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Koizumi R, Golovaty D, Alqarni A, Li BX, Sternberg PJ, Lavrentovich OD. Topological transformations of a nematic drop. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2023; 9:eadf3385. [PMID: 37418526 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adf3385] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/14/2022] [Accepted: 06/07/2023] [Indexed: 07/09/2023]
Abstract
Morphogenesis of living systems involves topological shape transformations which are highly unusual in the inanimate world. Here, we demonstrate that a droplet of a nematic liquid crystal changes its equilibrium shape from a simply connected tactoid, which is topologically equivalent to a sphere, to a torus, which is not simply connected. The topological shape transformation is caused by the interplay of nematic elastic constants, which facilitates splay and bend of molecular orientations in tactoids but hinders splay in the toroids. The elastic anisotropy mechanism might be helpful in understanding topology transformations in morphogenesis and paves the way to control and transform shapes of droplets of liquid crystals and related soft materials.
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Affiliation(s)
- Runa Koizumi
- Advanced Materials and Liquid Crystal Institute, Materials Science Graduate Program, Kent State University, Kent, OH 44242, USA
| | - Dmitry Golovaty
- Department of Mathematics, The University of Akron, Akron, OH 44325-4002, USA
| | - Ali Alqarni
- Advanced Materials and Liquid Crystal Institute, Materials Science Graduate Program, Kent State University, Kent, OH 44242, USA
| | - Bing-Xiang Li
- Advanced Materials and Liquid Crystal Institute, Materials Science Graduate Program, Kent State University, Kent, OH 44242, USA
- College of Electronic and Optical Engineering & College of Microelectronics, Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications, Nanjing 210023, China
| | - Peter J Sternberg
- Department of Mathematics, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA
| | - Oleg D Lavrentovich
- Advanced Materials and Liquid Crystal Institute, Materials Science Graduate Program, Kent State University, Kent, OH 44242, USA
- Department of Physics, Kent State University, Kent, OH 44242, USA
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2
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Ulaganathan V, Sengupta A. Spatio-temporal programming of lyotropic phase transition in nanoporous microfluidic confinements. J Colloid Interface Sci 2023; 649:302-312. [PMID: 37352561 DOI: 10.1016/j.jcis.2023.06.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/15/2022] [Revised: 05/04/2023] [Accepted: 06/03/2023] [Indexed: 06/25/2023]
Abstract
HYPOTHESIS The nanoporous polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) surfaces of a rectangular microfluidic channel, selectively uptakes water molecules, concentrating the solute molecules in an aqueous phase, that could drive phase transitions. Factors such as surface wettability, channel geometry, the surface-to-volume ratio, and surface topography of the confinements could play a key role in tuning the phase transitions spatio-temporally. EXPERIMENTS Using a lyotropic chromonic liquid crystal as model biological material, confined within nanoporous microfluidic environments, we study molecular assembly driven by nanoporous substrates. By combining timelapse polarized imaging, quantitative image processing, and a simple mathematical model, we analyze the phase transitions and construct a master diagram capturing the role of surface wettability, channel geometry and embedded topography on programmable lyotropic phase transitions. FINDINGS Intrinsic PDMS nanoporosity and confinement cross-section, together with the imposed wettability regulate the rate of the N-M phase transition; whereas the microfluidic geometry and embedded topography enable phase transition at targeted locations. We harness the emergent long-range order during N-M transition to actuate elasto-advective transport of embedded micro-cargo, demonstrating particle manipulation concepts governed by tunable phase transitions. Our results present a programmable physical route to material assembly in microfluidic environment, and offer a new paradigm for assembling genetic components, biological cargo, and minimal synthetic cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vamseekrishna Ulaganathan
- Physics of Living Matter Group, Department of Physics and Materials Science, University of Luxembourg, 162 A, Avenue de la Faïencerie, L-1511 Luxembourg City, Luxembourg
| | - Anupam Sengupta
- Physics of Living Matter Group, Department of Physics and Materials Science, University of Luxembourg, 162 A, Avenue de la Faïencerie, L-1511 Luxembourg City, Luxembourg.
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3
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Goral M, Clement E, Darnige T, Lopez-Leon T, Lindner A. Frustrated 'run and tumble' of swimming Escherichia coli bacteria in nematic liquid crystals. Interface Focus 2022; 12:20220039. [PMID: 36330319 PMCID: PMC9560793 DOI: 10.1098/rsfs.2022.0039] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/18/2022] [Accepted: 09/05/2022] [Indexed: 10/16/2023] Open
Abstract
In many situations, bacteria move in complex environments, as soils, oceans or the human gut-track, where carrier fluids show complex structures associated with non-Newtonian rheology. Many fundamental questions concerning the ability to navigate in such environments remain unsolved. Recently, it has been shown that the kinetics of bacterial motion in structured fluids as liquid crystals (LCs) is constrained by the orientational molecular order (or director field) and that novel spatio-temporal patterns arise. A question unaddressed so far is how bacteria change swimming direction in such an environment. In this work, we study the swimming mechanism of a single bacterium, Esherichia coli, constrained to move along the director field of a lyotropic chromonic liquid crystal confined to a planar cell. Here, the spontaneous 'run and tumble' motion of the bacterium gets frustrated: the elasticity of the LC prevents flagella from unbundling. Interestingly, to change direction, bacteria execute a reversal motion along the director field, driven by the relocation of a single flagellum, a 'frustrated tumble'. We characterize this phenomenon in detail experimentally, exploiting exceptional spatial and temporal resolution of bacterial and flagellar dynamics, using a two colour Lagrangian tracking technique. We suggest a possible mechanism accounting for these observations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martyna Goral
- Laboratoire de Physique et Mécanique des Milieux Hétérogènes, UMR 7636, CNRS, ESPCI Paris-PSL, Sorbonne Université, Université Paris Cité, 75005 Paris, France
- Laboratoire Gulliver, UMR 7083, CNRS, ESPCI Paris-PSL, 75005 Paris, France
| | - Eric Clement
- Laboratoire de Physique et Mécanique des Milieux Hétérogènes, UMR 7636, CNRS, ESPCI Paris-PSL, Sorbonne Université, Université Paris Cité, 75005 Paris, France
- Institut Universitaire de France (IUF), Paris, France
| | - Thierry Darnige
- Laboratoire de Physique et Mécanique des Milieux Hétérogènes, UMR 7636, CNRS, ESPCI Paris-PSL, Sorbonne Université, Université Paris Cité, 75005 Paris, France
| | - Teresa Lopez-Leon
- Laboratoire Gulliver, UMR 7083, CNRS, ESPCI Paris-PSL, 75005 Paris, France
| | - Anke Lindner
- Laboratoire de Physique et Mécanique des Milieux Hétérogènes, UMR 7636, CNRS, ESPCI Paris-PSL, Sorbonne Université, Université Paris Cité, 75005 Paris, France
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4
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Shaban H, Lee MJ, Lee W. Label-Free Detection and Spectrometrically Quantitative Analysis of the Cancer Biomarker CA125 Based on Lyotropic Chromonic Liquid Crystal. BIOSENSORS 2021; 11:bios11080271. [PMID: 34436073 PMCID: PMC8394883 DOI: 10.3390/bios11080271] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/16/2021] [Revised: 08/08/2021] [Accepted: 08/09/2021] [Indexed: 05/07/2023]
Abstract
Compared with thermotropic liquid crystals (LCs), the biosensing potential of lyotropic chromonic liquid crystals (LCLCs), which are more biocompatible because of their hydrophilic nature, has scarcely been investigated. In this study, the nematic phase, a mesophase shared by both thermotropic LCs and LCLCs, of disodium cromoglycate (DSCG) was employed as the sensing mesogen in the LCLC-based biosensor. The biosensing platform was constructed so that the LCLC was homogeneously aligned by the planar anchoring strength of polyimide, but was disrupted in the presence of proteins such as bovine serum albumin (BSA) or the cancer biomarker CA125 captured by the anti-CA125 antibody, with the level of disturbance (and the optical signal thus produced) predominated by the amount of the analyte. The concentration- and wavelength-dependent optical response was analyzed by transmission spectrometry in the visible light spectrum with parallel or crossed polarizers. The concentration of CA125 can be quantified with spectrometrically derived parameters in a linear calibration curve. The limit of detection for both BSA and CA125 of the LCLC-based biosensor was superior or comparable to that of thermotropic LC-based biosensing techniques. Our results provide, to the best of our knowledge, the first evidence that LCLCs can be applied in spectrometrically quantitative biosensing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hassanein Shaban
- Institute of Imaging and Biomedical Photonics, College of Photonics, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Guiren District, Tainan 71150, Taiwan;
- Department of Basic Science, Faculty of Engineering, The British University in Egypt, El Sherouk City 11837, Egypt
| | - Mon-Juan Lee
- Department of Bioscience Technology, Chang Jung Christian University, Guiren District, Tainan 71101, Taiwan
- Department of Medical Science Industries, Chang Jung Christian University, Guiren District, Tainan 71101, Taiwan
- Correspondence: (M.-J.L.); (W.L.)
| | - Wei Lee
- Institute of Imaging and Biomedical Photonics, College of Photonics, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Guiren District, Tainan 71150, Taiwan;
- Correspondence: (M.-J.L.); (W.L.)
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5
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da Silva DGB, Hallwass F, Navarro-Vázquez A. Single experiment measurement of residual dipolar couplings in aqueous solution using a biphasic bisperylene imide chromonic liquid crystal. MAGNETIC RESONANCE IN CHEMISTRY : MRC 2021; 59:408-413. [PMID: 33295034 DOI: 10.1002/mrc.5120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/04/2020] [Revised: 12/01/2020] [Accepted: 12/06/2020] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
The use of the biphasic isotropic/nematic region in a bisperylene imide-based lyotropic liquid crystal system allows the extraction of proton-carbon 1 DCH residual dipolar couplings in aqueous solution from a single F1-coupled HSQC experiment. The method was successfully applied to the RDC-based conformational analysis of sucrose.
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Affiliation(s)
- Danilo G B da Silva
- Departamento de Química Fundamental, CCEN, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil
| | - Fernando Hallwass
- Departamento de Química Fundamental, CCEN, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil
| | - Armando Navarro-Vázquez
- Departamento de Química Fundamental, CCEN, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil
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6
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Abstract
Nematic and columnar phases of lyotropic chromonic liquid crystals (LCLCs) have been long studied for their fundamental and applied prospects in material science and medical diagnostics. LCLC phases represent different self-assembled states of disc-shaped molecules, held together by noncovalent interactions that lead to highly sensitive concentration and temperature dependent properties. Yet, microscale insights into confined LCLCs, specifically in the context of confinement geometry and surface properties, are lacking. Here, we report the emergence of time dependent textures in static disodium cromoglycate (DSCG) solutions, confined in PDMS-based microfluidic devices. We use a combination of soft lithography, surface characterization, and polarized optical imaging to generate and analyze the confinement-induced LCLC textures and demonstrate that over time, herringbone and spherulite textures emerge due to spontaneous nematic (N) to columnar M-phase transition, propagating from the LCLC-PDMS interface into the LCLC bulk. By varying the confinement geometry, anchoring conditions, and the initial DSCG concentration, we can systematically tune the temporal dynamics of the N- to M-phase transition and textural behavior of the confined LCLC. Overall, the time taken to change from nematic to the characteristic M-phase textures decreased as the confinement aspect ratio (width/depth) increased. For a given aspect ratio, the transition to the M-phase was generally faster in degenerate planar confinements, relative to the transition in homeotropic confinements. Since the static molecular states register the initial conditions for LC flows, the time dependent textures reported here suggest that the surface and confinement effects—even under static conditions—could be central in understanding the flow behavior of LCLCs and the associated transport properties of this versatile material.
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Eun J, Cheon J, Kim SJ, Shin TJ, Jeong J. Lyotropic Chromonic Liquid Crystals and Their Impurities Reveal the Importance of the Position of Functional Groups in Self-Assembly. J Phys Chem B 2020; 124:9246-9254. [PMID: 32960600 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.0c07163] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
We study the effect of purification and impurities on the self-assembly and phase behavior of lyotropic chromonic liquid crystals (LCLCs). LCLC molecules in water stack to form aggregates; then, the elongated nanoaggregates align to make liquid crystalline phases. Utilizing multiple experimental techniques, we unveil impurities in commercial Sunset Yellow FCF (SSY), a representative LCLC, and how the precipitation-based purification promotes the formation of the aggregates and mesophase. We further explore the roles of intrinsic impurities, i.e., byproducts of the SSY synthesis, whose molecular structures are almost identical to that of SSY but differ only in the number and position of sulfonate groups. Combining quantum chemical calculations of molecular structures and experimental investigation of aggregate structures and phase behavior, we propose that the impurities of the planar shapes behave as planar SSY, i.e., participating in aggregate formation, whereas the nonplanar one disrupts the nematic phase. These results highlight the critical roles of the impurities and deepen our understanding of self-assembled aggregates and their aligned mesophases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jonghee Eun
- Department of Physics, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology, Ulsan 44919, Republic of Korea
| | - Jiyong Cheon
- Department of Physics, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology, Ulsan 44919, Republic of Korea
| | - Sung-Jo Kim
- Department of Physics, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology, Ulsan 44919, Republic of Korea
| | - Tae Joo Shin
- UNIST Central Research Facilities & School of Natural Science, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology, Ulsan 44919, Republic of Korea
| | - Joonwoo Jeong
- Department of Physics, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology, Ulsan 44919, Republic of Korea
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8
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Baza H, Turiv T, Li BX, Li R, Yavitt BM, Fukuto M, Lavrentovich OD. Shear-induced polydomain structures of nematic lyotropic chromonic liquid crystal disodium cromoglycate. SOFT MATTER 2020; 16:8565-8576. [PMID: 32785364 DOI: 10.1039/d0sm01259a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Lyotropic chromonic liquid crystals (LCLCs) represent aqueous dispersions of organic disk-like molecules that form cylindrical aggregates. Despite the growing interest in these materials, their flow behavior is poorly understood. Here, we explore the effect of shear on dynamic structures of the nematic LCLC, formed by 14 wt% water dispersion of disodium cromoglycate (DSCG). We employ in situ polarizing optical microscopy (POM) and small-angle and wide-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS/WAXS) to obtain independent and complementary information on the director structures over a wide range of shear rates. The DSCG nematic shows a shear-thinning behavior with two shear-thinning regions (Region I at [small gamma, Greek, dot above] < 1 s-1 and Region III at [small gamma, Greek, dot above] > 10 s-1) separated by a pseudo-Newtonian Region II (1 s-1 < [small gamma, Greek, dot above] < 10 s-1). The material is of a tumbling type. In Region I, [small gamma, Greek, dot above] < 1 s-1, the director realigns along the vorticity axis. An increase of [small gamma, Greek, dot above] above 1 s-1 triggers nucleation of disclination loops. The disclinations introduce patches of the director that deviates from the vorticity direction and form a polydomain texture. Extension of the domains along the flow and along the vorticity direction decreases with the increase of the shear rate to 10 s-1. Above 10 s-1, the domains begin to elongate along the flow. At [small gamma, Greek, dot above] > 100 s-1, the texture evolves into periodic stripes in which the director is predominantly along the flow with left and right tilts. The period of stripes decreases with an increase of [small gamma, Greek, dot above]. The shear-induced transformations are explained by the balance of the elastic and viscous energies. In particular, nucleation of disclinations is associated with an increase of the elastic energy at the walls separating nonsingular domains with different director tilts. The uncovered shear-induced structural effects would be of importance in the further development of LCLC applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hend Baza
- Department of Physics, Kent State University, Kent, OH 44242, USA. and Advanced Materials and Liquid Crystal Institute, Kent State University, Kent, OH 44242, USA
| | - Taras Turiv
- Advanced Materials and Liquid Crystal Institute, Kent State University, Kent, OH 44242, USA and Materials Science Graduate Program, Kent State University, Kent, OH 44242, USA
| | - Bing-Xiang Li
- Advanced Materials and Liquid Crystal Institute, Kent State University, Kent, OH 44242, USA and Materials Science Graduate Program, Kent State University, Kent, OH 44242, USA
| | - Ruipeng Li
- National Synchrotron Light Source II, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY 11973, USA
| | - Benjamin M Yavitt
- National Synchrotron Light Source II, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY 11973, USA and Department of Materials Science and Chemical Engineering, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794, USA
| | - Masafumi Fukuto
- National Synchrotron Light Source II, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY 11973, USA
| | - Oleg D Lavrentovich
- Department of Physics, Kent State University, Kent, OH 44242, USA. and Advanced Materials and Liquid Crystal Institute, Kent State University, Kent, OH 44242, USA and Materials Science Graduate Program, Kent State University, Kent, OH 44242, USA
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9
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Zhang B, Martens K, Kneer L, Funck T, Nguyen L, Berger R, Dass M, Kempter S, Schmidtke J, Liedl T, Kitzerow HS. DNA Origami Nano-Sheets and Nano-Rods Alter the Orientational Order in a Lyotropic Chromonic Liquid Crystal. NANOMATERIALS 2020; 10:nano10091695. [PMID: 32872176 PMCID: PMC7560128 DOI: 10.3390/nano10091695] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/08/2020] [Revised: 08/21/2020] [Accepted: 08/24/2020] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
Rod-like and sheet-like nano-particles made of desoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) fabricated by the DNA origami method (base sequence-controlled self-organized folding of DNA) are dispersed in a lyotropic chromonic liquid crystal made of an aqueous solution of disodium cromoglycate. The respective liquid crystalline nanodispersions are doped with a dichroic fluorescent dye and their orientational order parameter is studied by means of polarized fluorescence spectroscopy. The presence of the nano-particles is found to slightly reduce the orientational order parameter of the nematic mesophase. Nano-rods with a large length/width ratio tend to preserve the orientational order, while more compact stiff nano-rods and especially nano-sheets reduce the order parameter to a larger extent. In spite of the difference between the sizes of the DNA nano-particles and the rod-like columnar aggregates forming the liquid crystal, a similarity between the shapes of the former and the latter seems to be better compatible with the orientational order of the liquid crystal.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bingru Zhang
- Faculty of Science, Department of Chemistry, University of Paderborn, Warburger Straße 100, 33098 Paderborn, Germany; (B.Z.); (J.S.)
| | - Kevin Martens
- Faculty of Physics, Ludwig-Maximilians-University, Geschwister-Scholl-Platz 1, 80539 Munich, Germany; (K.M.); (L.K.); (T.F.); (L.N.); (R.B.); (M.D.); (S.K.); (T.L.)
| | - Luisa Kneer
- Faculty of Physics, Ludwig-Maximilians-University, Geschwister-Scholl-Platz 1, 80539 Munich, Germany; (K.M.); (L.K.); (T.F.); (L.N.); (R.B.); (M.D.); (S.K.); (T.L.)
| | - Timon Funck
- Faculty of Physics, Ludwig-Maximilians-University, Geschwister-Scholl-Platz 1, 80539 Munich, Germany; (K.M.); (L.K.); (T.F.); (L.N.); (R.B.); (M.D.); (S.K.); (T.L.)
| | - Linh Nguyen
- Faculty of Physics, Ludwig-Maximilians-University, Geschwister-Scholl-Platz 1, 80539 Munich, Germany; (K.M.); (L.K.); (T.F.); (L.N.); (R.B.); (M.D.); (S.K.); (T.L.)
| | - Ricarda Berger
- Faculty of Physics, Ludwig-Maximilians-University, Geschwister-Scholl-Platz 1, 80539 Munich, Germany; (K.M.); (L.K.); (T.F.); (L.N.); (R.B.); (M.D.); (S.K.); (T.L.)
| | - Mihir Dass
- Faculty of Physics, Ludwig-Maximilians-University, Geschwister-Scholl-Platz 1, 80539 Munich, Germany; (K.M.); (L.K.); (T.F.); (L.N.); (R.B.); (M.D.); (S.K.); (T.L.)
| | - Susanne Kempter
- Faculty of Physics, Ludwig-Maximilians-University, Geschwister-Scholl-Platz 1, 80539 Munich, Germany; (K.M.); (L.K.); (T.F.); (L.N.); (R.B.); (M.D.); (S.K.); (T.L.)
| | - Jürgen Schmidtke
- Faculty of Science, Department of Chemistry, University of Paderborn, Warburger Straße 100, 33098 Paderborn, Germany; (B.Z.); (J.S.)
| | - Tim Liedl
- Faculty of Physics, Ludwig-Maximilians-University, Geschwister-Scholl-Platz 1, 80539 Munich, Germany; (K.M.); (L.K.); (T.F.); (L.N.); (R.B.); (M.D.); (S.K.); (T.L.)
| | - Heinz-S. Kitzerow
- Faculty of Science, Department of Chemistry, University of Paderborn, Warburger Straße 100, 33098 Paderborn, Germany; (B.Z.); (J.S.)
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +49-(0)5251-602156
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Huang N, Tao J, Wei S, Huang W, Wang D. Positional Order in the Columnar Phase of Lyotropic Chromonic Liquid Crystals Mediated by Ionic Additives. ACS OMEGA 2020; 5:9937-9943. [PMID: 32391481 PMCID: PMC7203950 DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.0c00229] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/16/2020] [Accepted: 04/08/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Positional order in the lyotropic chromonic liquid crystals (LCLCs) is investigated in the supramolecular assembly of benzene 1,3,5-tricarboxamide (BTA) derivatives with the glucono-delta-lactone (GdL) acid additive by high-resolution synchrotron radiation small-angle X-ray scattering. The formation of positionally ordered hexagonal phase is found to profoundly depend on the concentrations of BTA derivatives, c BTA, and GdL additives, c addtive, giving rise to unusual behavior distinctive from conventional lyotropic liquid crystals (LCs) with covalent bonds and fixed length. The hexagonal phase is observed to coexist with another phase in certain range of c addtive/c BTA. Intriguingly, the lattice spacing R of the hexagonal phase remains almost constant by varying c addtive but changes with c BTA. The above observations are attributed to unique sensitivities of the LCLC properties, such as the contour length and flexibility of individual cylinder assemblies and phase coexistence, to additives in the solutions. Our study reveals the complexity in positional ordering in the LCLCs which not only relates to the underlying principles of hierarchical reversible self-assembly but also attracts fundamental interests in LCs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ningdong Huang
- Hefei
National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China
| | - Jiaojiao Tao
- National
Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory, University
of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230029, China
| | - Shenghui Wei
- National
Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory, University
of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230029, China
| | - Weiheng Huang
- National
Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory, University
of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230029, China
| | - Daoliang Wang
- National
Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory, University
of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230029, China
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11
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Shiraishi K, Takahashi S, Le KV, Naka Y, Sasaki T. Bulk Alignment of Chromonic Aggregates During Swelling of Hydrogels. Macromol Rapid Commun 2020; 41:e1900631. [DOI: 10.1002/marc.201900631] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/02/2019] [Revised: 02/10/2020] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Koji Shiraishi
- Department of ChemistryFaculty of ScienceTokyo University of Science 1‐3 Kagurazaka Shinjuku‐ku Tokyo 162‐8601 Japan
| | - Sawako Takahashi
- Department of ChemistryFaculty of ScienceTokyo University of Science 1‐3 Kagurazaka Shinjuku‐ku Tokyo 162‐8601 Japan
| | - Khoa V. Le
- Department of ChemistryFaculty of ScienceTokyo University of Science 1‐3 Kagurazaka Shinjuku‐ku Tokyo 162‐8601 Japan
| | - Yumiko Naka
- Department of ChemistryFaculty of ScienceTokyo University of Science 1‐3 Kagurazaka Shinjuku‐ku Tokyo 162‐8601 Japan
| | - Takeo Sasaki
- Department of ChemistryFaculty of ScienceTokyo University of Science 1‐3 Kagurazaka Shinjuku‐ku Tokyo 162‐8601 Japan
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12
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Matus Rivas OM, Rey AD. Molecular Dynamics Study of the Effect of l-Alanine Chiral Dopants on Diluted Chromonic Solutions. J Phys Chem B 2019; 123:8995-9010. [PMID: 31525883 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.9b06111] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Atomistic molecular dynamics simulations have been performed for disodium cromoglycate (DSCG) chromonic solutions mixed with l-alanine chiral dopants. We study the fundamental molecular mechanisms induced by low concentrations of l-alanine on diluted DSCG solutions, including their effect on the chromonic aggregates, the solvent, and sodium counterions. Simulations reveal that l-alanine molecules primarily interact with DSCG stacks establishing salt bridges between their respective ammonium and carboxylate groups. Our results demonstrate that l-alanine and sodium counterions jointly establish an intricate network of noncovalent interactions around DSCG aggregates that decreases the global electrostatic repulsion of the chromonic system. Two possible structural effects in DSCG aggregates arise from this electronic stabilization: the increment of the total number of consecutively stacked aromatic planes per DSCG aggregate (intracolumnar effect) or the partial separation reduction between neighboring DSCG columnar sections due to the simultaneous bridging of intercolumnar DSCG carboxylate sites by sodium counterions, forming sodium bridges (intercolumnar effect). Sodium bridges may be responsible for the formation of stacking faults in DSCG aggregates in the form of lateral overlap junctions. This mechanism would explain the difference between lower X-ray correlation lengths with the expected persistence length in chromonics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Oscar M Matus Rivas
- Department of Chemical Engineering , McGill University , Montreal , Quebec H3A 0C5 , Canada
| | - Alejandro D Rey
- Department of Chemical Engineering , McGill University , Montreal , Quebec H3A 0C5 , Canada
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13
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Effect of Crowding Agent Polyethylene Glycol on Lyotropic Chromonic Liquid Crystal Phases of Disodium Cromoglycate. CRYSTALS 2019. [DOI: 10.3390/cryst9030160] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Adding crowding agents such as polyethylene glycol (PEG) to lyotropic chromonic liquid crystals (LCLCs) formed by water dispersions of materials such as disodium cromoglicate (DSCG) leads to a phase separation of the isotropic phase and the ordered phase. This behavior resembles nanoscale condensation of DNAs but occurs at the microscale. The structure of condensed chromonic regions in crowded dispersions is not yet fully understood, in particular, it is not clear whether the condensed domains are in the nematic (N) or the columnar (C) state. In this study, we report on small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) and wide-angle X-ray scattering (WAXS) measurements of mixtures of aqueous solutions of DSCG with PEG and compare results to measurements of aqueous solutions of pure DSCG. X-ray measurements demonstrate that addition of PEG to DSCG in the N phase triggers appearance of the C phase that coexists with the isotropic (I) phase. Within the coexisting region, the lateral distance between the columns of the chromonic aggregates decreases as the temperature is increased.
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Matus Rivas OM, Rey AD. Effects of Sodium and Magnesium Cations on the Aggregation of Chromonic Solutions Using Molecular Dynamics. J Phys Chem B 2019; 123:1718-1732. [PMID: 30672292 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.8b12130] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
Lyotropic chromonic liquid crystals (LCLCs) constitute a unique variety of water-soluble mesogens that spontaneously assemble into elongated aggregates, thereby resulting in the formation of liquid crystal phases depending on the temperature and concentration. The influence of ionic additives on the aggregation of LCLC has been extensively studied, but the molecular mechanisms governing these effects remain unclear. In this investigation, we perform atomistic molecular dynamics simulations of dilute sunset yellow (SSY) LCLC solutions doped with NaCl and MgCl2 salts. Structural and dynamical properties of SSY hydration shells are considerably modified by the partial substitution of their H bonds with sodium/magnesium-sulfonate ion pairs. Although the intermolecular distance of ∼3.4 Å between SSY mesogens is preserved regardless of the ionic content, the growing number of ion pairs favors the reduction of the electrostatic repulsion between mesogens, increasing the length of SSY stacks. Moreover, magnesium cations exert the strongest electrostatic effects due to their higher hydration capabilities and acute electrostatic binding to SSY. For these reasons, experimental observations of dilute SSY solutions doped with Mg2+ exhibit higher nematic-to-isotropic transition temperatures than Na+. This work provides a fundamental understanding of the influence of ionic additives on the self-assembly of diluted LCLC solutions derived from the synergistic molecular mechanisms between mesogens, the solvent, and cations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Oscar M Matus Rivas
- Department of Chemical Engineering , McGill University , Montreal , Quebec H3A OC5 , Canada
| | - Alejandro D Rey
- Department of Chemical Engineering , McGill University , Montreal , Quebec H3A OC5 , Canada
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15
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Ogolla T, Paley RS, Collings PJ. Temperature dependence of the pitch in chiral lyotropic chromonic liquid crystals. SOFT MATTER 2018; 15:109-115. [PMID: 30534734 DOI: 10.1039/c8sm02091d] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
One of the most simple cases in which chirality at the microscopic level produces a chiral macroscopic structure is the chiral nematic liquid crystal phase. In such a phase, the preferred direction of molecular orientation rotates in helical fashion, with the pitch of the helix in different systems ranging from around 100 nm to as large as can be measured (∼10 mm). For almost all thermotropic and lyotropic liquid crystals, the ordered entities are formed from strong bonds, so the pitch varies in accordance with how the interactions between these largely immutable entities are affected by changing conditions. A unique exception are lyotropic chromonic liquid crystals (LCLCs) that spontaneously form weakly bound assemblies in solution, the size of which depends strongly on experimental parameters. While the temperature dependence of the pitch has been measured for chiral LCLCs formed by short strands of DNA (DNA-LCLCs), such is not the case for chiral LCLCs formed by small molecules. Polarized optical microscopy experiments on small molecule chiral LCLCs reveal the changing assembly size through a temperature dependence of the pitch not typical for many other systems, including the most recent measurements on DNA-LCLCs. In fact, the pitch measurements in small molecule chiral LCLCs strongly increase in value as the temperature is increased and the assemblies shrink in size. Theoretical considerations provide some help in understanding this phenomena, but leave much to be explained.
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Affiliation(s)
- Timothy Ogolla
- Department of Physics & Astronomy, Swarthmore College, Swarthmore, PA, USA. and Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Swarthmore College, Swarthmore, PA, USA
| | - Robert S Paley
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Swarthmore College, Swarthmore, PA, USA
| | - Peter J Collings
- Department of Physics & Astronomy, Swarthmore College, Swarthmore, PA, USA. and Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
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16
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Martinez A, Collings PJ, Yodh AG. Brownian Dynamics of Particles "Dressed" by Chiral Director Configurations in Lyotropic Chromonic Liquid Crystals. PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS 2018; 121:177801. [PMID: 30411945 DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.121.177801] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/11/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
We study Brownian dynamics of colloidal spheres, with planar anchoring conditions, suspended in the nematic phase of the lyotropic chromonic liquid crystal disodium chromoglycate (DSCG). Unlike typical liquid crystals, the unusually small twist elastic modulus of DSCG permits two energetically distinct helical distortions (twisted tails) of the nematic director to "dress" the suspended spheres. Video microscopy is used to characterize the helical distortions versus particle size and to measure particle mean-square displacements. Diffusion coefficients parallel and perpendicular to the far-field director, and their anisotropy ratio, are different for the two twisted tail configurations. Moreover, the crossover from subdiffusive to diffusive behavior is anomalously slow for motion perpendicular to the director (>100 s). Simple arguments using Miesowicz viscosities and ideas about twist relaxation are suggested to understand the mean-square displacement observations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Angel Martinez
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, USA
| | - Peter J Collings
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, USA
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Swarthmore College, Swarthmore, Pennsylvania 19081, USA
| | - A G Yodh
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, USA
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17
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Berart SD, Tortora L, Finotello D, Zupancic B, Zalar B, Green L, Lavrentovich OD. Order parameters and time evolution of mesophases in the lyotropic chromonic liquid crystal Sunset Yellow FCF by DNMR. SOFT MATTER 2018; 14:7277-7286. [PMID: 30140799 DOI: 10.1039/c8sm01221k] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Uniaxial order parameters of the nematic and columnar mesophases in the lyotropic chromonic liquid crystal Sunset Yellow FCF have been determined from deuteron nuclear magnetic resonance, where random confinement of the system by the dispersion of aerosil nanoparticles has been performed to help obtain the angular dependent spectra. The long-time evolution study of the order parameters shows that the system requires tens of hours to stabilize after a deep change in temperature, in contrast with the very fast assembly process of the aggregates. Finally, the degree of order of the water molecules, forced by the uniaxial environment, has been determined.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sergio Diez Berart
- Liquid Crystal Institute and Chemical Physics Interdisciplinary Program, Kent State University, Kent, Ohio 44242, USA
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18
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Thind R, Walker M, Wilson MR. Molecular Simulation Studies of Cyanine-Based Chromonic Mesogens: Spontaneous Symmetry Breaking to Form Chiral Aggregates and the Formation of a Novel Lamellar Structure. ADVANCED THEORY AND SIMULATIONS 2018. [DOI: 10.1002/adts.201800088] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Romnik Thind
- Department of Chemistry; Durham University; Lower Mountjoy, Stockton Road Durham DH1 3LE UK
| | - Martin Walker
- Department of Chemistry; Durham University; Lower Mountjoy, Stockton Road Durham DH1 3LE UK
| | - Mark R. Wilson
- Department of Chemistry; Durham University; Lower Mountjoy, Stockton Road Durham DH1 3LE UK
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19
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Berride F, Troche-Pesqueira E, Feio G, Cabrita EJ, Sierra T, Navarro-Vázquez A, Cid MM. Chiral amplification of disodium cromoglycate chromonics induced by a codeine derivative. SOFT MATTER 2017; 13:6810-6815. [PMID: 28819662 DOI: 10.1039/c7sm01227f] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/16/2023]
Abstract
Chromonic liquid crystals (CLC) are lyotropic phases formed by discotic mesogens in water. Simple chiral dopants such as amino acids have been reported to turn chromonic liquid crystals into their cholesteric counterparts. Here we report a chirality amplification effect in the nematic phase of a 9 wt% disodium cromoglycate (DSCG) lyotropic liquid crystal (LLC) upon doping with a water-soluble codeine derivative. The transition on cooling the isotropic to the nematic phase showed the presence of homochiral spindle-shaped droplets (tactoids). NMR DOSY experiments on a triple gradient probe revealed a small degree of diffusion anisotropy for the alkaloid embedded in the liquid crystal structure. These results in combination with XRD, CD and POM experiments agree with a supramolecular aggregation model based on simple columnar stacks.
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Affiliation(s)
- F Berride
- Departamento de Quıímica Orgánica, Edificio de Ciencias Experimentais, Campus Lagoas-Marcosende, Vigo, 36310, Spain.
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20
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Cha YJ, Gim MJ, Ahn H, Shin TJ, Jeong J, Yoon DK. Orthogonal Liquid Crystal Alignment Layer: Templating Speed-Dependent Orientation of Chromonic Liquid Crystals. ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES 2017; 9:18355-18361. [PMID: 28489345 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.7b04188] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
Lyotropic chromonic liquid crystals (LCLCs) have been extensively studied because of the interesting structural characteristics of the linear aggregation of their plank-shaped molecules in aqueous solvents. We report a simple method to control the orientation of LCLCs such as Sunset Yellow (SSY), disodium cromoglycate (DSCG), and DNA by varying pulling speed of the top substrate and temperatures during shear flow induced experiment. Crystallized columns of LCLCs are aligned parallel and perpendicular to the shear direction, at fast and slow pulling speeds of the top substrate, respectively. On the basis of this result, we fabricated an orthogonally patterned film that can be used as an alignment layer for guiding rodlike liquid crystals (LCs) to generate both twisted and planar alignments simultaneously. Our resulting platform can provide a facile method to form multidirectional orientation of soft materials and biomaterials in a process of simple shearing and evaporation, which gives rise to potential patterning applications using LCLCs due to their unique structural characteristics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yun Jeong Cha
- Graduate School of Nanoscience and Technology and KINC, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology , Daejeon 34141, Republic of Korea
| | - Min-Jun Gim
- Graduate School of Nanoscience and Technology and KINC, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology , Daejeon 34141, Republic of Korea
| | - Hyungju Ahn
- Pohang Accelerator Laboratory, POSTECH , Pohang 37673, Republic of Korea
| | - Tae Joo Shin
- UNIST Central Research Facilities & School of Natural Science, UNIST , Ulsan 44919, Republic of Korea
| | - Joonwoo Jeong
- School of Natural Science, UNIST , Ulsan 44919, Republic of Korea
| | - Dong Ki Yoon
- Graduate School of Nanoscience and Technology and KINC, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology , Daejeon 34141, Republic of Korea
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21
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van der Asdonk P, Kouwer PHJ. Liquid crystal templating as an approach to spatially and temporally organise soft matter. Chem Soc Rev 2017; 46:5935-5949. [DOI: 10.1039/c7cs00029d] [Citation(s) in RCA: 53] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
Liquid crystal templating: an emerging technique to organise and control soft matter at multiple length scales.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pim van der Asdonk
- Radboud University
- Institute for Molecules and Materials
- 6525 AJ Nijmegen
- The Netherlands
| | - Paul H. J. Kouwer
- Radboud University
- Institute for Molecules and Materials
- 6525 AJ Nijmegen
- The Netherlands
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22
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Zhang B, Kitzerow HS. Influence of Proton and Salt Concentration on the Chromonic Liquid Crystal Phase Diagram of Disodium Cromoglycate Solutions: Prospects and Limitations of a Host for DNA Nanostructures. J Phys Chem B 2016; 120:3250-6. [PMID: 26964003 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.6b01644] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Lyotropic chromonic liquid crystals have recently been suggested for use as a self-organized host for dispersing and aligning self-organized DNA origami nanostructures. However, an appropriate pH value and a suitable cation concentration are necessary to stabilize such nanostructures and to avoid unfolding of the DNA. The present study shows that the nematic and columnar liquid crystal phases appearing in aqueous solutions of disodium cromoglycate are robust against the replacement of deionized water by a neutral or alkaline buffer solution. However, disodium cromoglycate precipitates when an acidic buffer is used or when the concentration of magnesium cations exceeds a critical concentration of about 0.6-0.7 mmol/L.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bingru Zhang
- Department of Chemistry, University of Paderborn , Warburger Strasse 100, 33098 Paderborn, Germany
| | - Heinz-S Kitzerow
- Department of Chemistry, University of Paderborn , Warburger Strasse 100, 33098 Paderborn, Germany
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23
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Martens K, Funck T, Kempter S, Roller EM, Liedl T, Blaschke BM, Knecht P, Garrido JA, Zhang B, Kitzerow H. Alignment and Graphene-Assisted Decoration of Lyotropic Chromonic Liquid Crystals Containing DNA Origami Nanostructures. SMALL (WEINHEIM AN DER BERGSTRASSE, GERMANY) 2016; 12:1658-1666. [PMID: 26849188 DOI: 10.1002/smll.201503382] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/05/2015] [Revised: 12/18/2015] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
Composites of DNA origami nanostructures dispersed in a lyotropic chromonic liquid crystal are studied by polarizing optical microscopy. The homogeneous aqueous dispersions can be uniformly aligned by confinement between two glass substrates, either parallel to the substrates owing to uniaxial rubbing or perpendicular to the substrates using ozonized graphene layers. These opportunities of uniform alignment may pave the way for tailored anisometric plasmonic DNA nanostructures to photonic materials. In addition, a decorated texture with nonuniform orientation is observed on substrates coated with pristine graphene. When the water is allowed to evaporate slowly, microscopic crystal needles appear, which are aligned along the local orientation of the director. This decoration method can be used for studying the local orientational order and the defects in chromonic liquid crystals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kevin Martens
- Faculty of Physics, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, Geschwister-Scholl-Platz 1, 80539, München, Germany
| | - Timon Funck
- Faculty of Physics, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, Geschwister-Scholl-Platz 1, 80539, München, Germany
| | - Susanne Kempter
- Faculty of Physics, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, Geschwister-Scholl-Platz 1, 80539, München, Germany
| | - Eva-Maria Roller
- Faculty of Physics, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, Geschwister-Scholl-Platz 1, 80539, München, Germany
| | - Tim Liedl
- Faculty of Physics, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, Geschwister-Scholl-Platz 1, 80539, München, Germany
| | - Benno M Blaschke
- Walter Schottky Institut and Physics Department, Technische Universität München, Am Coulombwall 4, 85748, Garching, Germany
| | - Peter Knecht
- Walter Schottky Institut and Physics Department, Technische Universität München, Am Coulombwall 4, 85748, Garching, Germany
| | - José Antonio Garrido
- Walter Schottky Institut and Physics Department, Technische Universität München, Am Coulombwall 4, 85748, Garching, Germany
| | - Bingru Zhang
- Faculty of Science, Department of Chemistry, University of Paderborn, Warburger Straße 100, 33098, Paderborn, Germany
| | - Heinz Kitzerow
- Faculty of Science, Department of Chemistry, University of Paderborn, Warburger Straße 100, 33098, Paderborn, Germany
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24
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Tavano L, Nicoletta FP, Picci N, Muzzalupo R. Cromolyn as surface active drug (surfadrug): Effect of the self-association on diffusion and percutaneous permeation. Colloids Surf B Biointerfaces 2016; 139:132-7. [DOI: 10.1016/j.colsurfb.2015.12.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/07/2015] [Revised: 11/30/2015] [Accepted: 12/04/2015] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
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25
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Yamaguchi A, Smith GP, Yi Y, Xu C, Biffi S, Serra F, Bellini T, Zhu C, Clark NA. Phases and structures of sunset yellow and disodium cromoglycate mixtures in water. Phys Rev E 2016; 93:012704. [PMID: 26871132 DOI: 10.1103/physreve.93.012704] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/14/2015] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
We study phases and structures of mixtures of two representative chromonic liquid crystal materials, sunset yellow FCF (SSY) and disodium cromoglycate (DSCG), in water. A variety of combinations of isotropic, nematic (N), and columnar (also called M) phases are observed depending on their concentrations, and a phase diagram is made. We find a tendency for DSCG-rich regions to show higher-order phases while SSY-rich regions show lower-order ones. We observe uniform mesophases only when one of the materials is sparse in the N phases. Their miscibility in M phases is so low that essentially complete phase separation occurs. X-ray scattering and spectroscopy studies confirm that SSY and DSCG molecules do not mix when they form chromonic aggregates and neither do their aggregates when they form M phases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Akihiro Yamaguchi
- Soft Materials Research Center, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado 80309, USA
| | - Gregory P Smith
- Soft Materials Research Center, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado 80309, USA
| | - Youngwoo Yi
- Soft Materials Research Center, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado 80309, USA
| | - Charles Xu
- Fairview High School, Boulder, Colorado 80305, USA
| | - Silvia Biffi
- Dipartimento di Biotecnologie Mediche e Medicina Traslazionale, Università degli Studi di Milano, Italy
| | - Francesca Serra
- Dipartimento di Biotecnologie Mediche e Medicina Traslazionale, Università degli Studi di Milano, Italy
| | - Tommaso Bellini
- Dipartimento di Biotecnologie Mediche e Medicina Traslazionale, Università degli Studi di Milano, Italy
| | - Chenhui Zhu
- Advanced Light Source, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California 94720, USA
| | - Noel A Clark
- Soft Materials Research Center, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado 80309, USA
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26
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Mushenheim PC, Trivedi RR, Roy SS, Arnold MS, Weibel DB, Abbott NL. Effects of confinement, surface-induced orientations and strain on dynamical behaviors of bacteria in thin liquid crystalline films. SOFT MATTER 2015; 11:6821-6831. [PMID: 26224035 PMCID: PMC6365283 DOI: 10.1039/c5sm01489a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/25/2023]
Abstract
We report on the organization and dynamics of bacteria (Proteus mirabilis) dispersed within lyotropic liquid crystal (LC) films confined by pairs of surfaces that induce homeotropic (perpendicular) or hybrid (homeotropic and parallel orientations at each surface) anchoring of the LC. By using motile vegetative bacteria (3 µm in length) and homeotropically aligned LC films with thicknesses that exceed the length of the rod-shaped cells, a key finding reported in this paper is that elastic torques generated by the LC are sufficiently large to overcome wall-induced hydrodynamic torques acting on the cells, thus leading to LC-guided bacterial motion near surfaces that orient LCs. This result extends to bacteria within LC films with hybrid anchoring, and leads to the observation that asymmetric strain within a hybrid aligned LC rectifies motions of motile cells. In contrast, when the LC film thickness is sufficiently small that confinement prevents alignment of the bacteria cells along a homeotropically aligned LC director (achieved using swarm cells of length 10-60 µm), the bacterial cells propel in directions orthogonal to the director, generating transient distortions in the LC that have striking "comet-like" optical signatures. In this limit, for hybrid LC films, we find LC elastic stresses deform the bodies of swarm cells into bent configurations that follow the LC director, thus unmasking a coupling between bacterial shape and LC strain. Overall, these results provide new insight into the influence of surface-oriented LCs on dynamical bacterial behaviors and hint at novel ways to manipulate bacteria using confined LC phases that are not possible in isotropic solutions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peter C. Mushenheim
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1415 Engineering Drive, Madison, WI, 53706, USA. ; Fax: +1-608-262-5434; Tel: +1-608-265-5278
| | - Rishi R. Trivedi
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 433 Babcock Drive,Madison, WI, 53706, USA. Fax: +1-608-265-0764; Tel: +1-608-890-1342
| | - Susmit Singha Roy
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1509 University Avenue, Madison, WI, 53706, USA. Fax: +1-608-262-8353;Tel: +1-608-262-3863
| | - Michael S. Arnold
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1509 University Avenue, Madison, WI, 53706, USA. Fax: +1-608-262-8353;Tel: +1-608-262-3863
| | - Douglas B. Weibel
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 433 Babcock Drive,Madison, WI, 53706, USA. Fax: +1-608-265-0764; Tel: +1-608-890-1342
| | - Nicholas L. Abbott
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1415 Engineering Drive, Madison, WI, 53706, USA. ; Fax: +1-608-262-5434; Tel: +1-608-265-5278
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27
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Zimmermann N, Jünnemann-Held G, Collings PJ, Kitzerow HS. Self-organized assemblies of colloidal particles obtained from an aligned chromonic liquid crystal dispersion. SOFT MATTER 2015; 11:1547-1553. [PMID: 25589441 DOI: 10.1039/c4sm02579b] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/04/2023]
Abstract
The behavior of mono-disperse colloidal particles in a chromonic liquid crystal was investigated. Poly(methyl methacrylate) spherical particles with three different functionalizations, with and without surface charges, were utilized in the nematic and columnar phases of disodium cromoglycate solutions. The nematic phase was completely aligned parallel to the glass substrates by a simple rubbing technique, and the columnar phase showed regions of similar alignment. The behavior of the colloidal particles in the chromonic liquid crystal depended critically on the functionality, with bromine functionalized particles not dispersing at all, and cationic trimethylammonium and epoxy functionalized particles dispersing well in the isotropic phase of the liquid crystal. At the transition to the nematic and especially the columnar phase, the colloidal particles were expelled into the remaining isotropic phase. Since the columnar phase grew in parallel ribbons, the colloidal particles ended up in chain-like assemblies. Such behavior opens the possibility of producing patterned assemblies of colloidal particles by taking advantage of the self-organized structure of chromonic liquid crystals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Natalie Zimmermann
- Department of Chemistry, University of Paderborn, 33098 Paderborn, Germany.
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28
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Van Hecke GR, Karukstis KK, Rayermann S. Deriving binary phase diagrams for chromonic materials in water mixtures via fluorescence spectroscopy: cromolyn and water. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2015; 17:1047-52. [DOI: 10.1039/c4cp03539a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
We report here the first example of a new and novel method of determining the binary temperature–composition phase diagram of a chromonic material in water using its intrinsic fluorescence.
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29
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Mushenheim PC, Abbott NL. Hierarchical organization in liquid crystal-in-liquid crystal emulsions. SOFT MATTER 2014; 10:8627-8634. [PMID: 25278032 PMCID: PMC4241356 DOI: 10.1039/c4sm01651c] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/29/2023]
Abstract
We report the formation and characterization of hierarchical ordering in systems comprised of micrometer-sized droplets of thermotropic nematic liquid crystals (LCs) dispersed in continuous nematic phases of a lyotropic chromonic LC (disodium cromoglycate (DSCG)). Significantly, we find the orientations of the two LC phases to be coupled, with nematic droplets of 4'-pentyl-4-cyanobiphenyl (5CB) exhibiting a bipolar configuration with an axis of symmetry aligned orthogonal to the far-field director of the DSCG phase. We determine that this coupling of orientations does not result from either anisometric LC droplet shape or interfacial ionic phenomena but rather is consistent with the influence of van der Waals interactions that arise from the anisotropic polarizabilities of nematic 5CB (Δn = +0.18) and DSCG (Δn = -0.02) phases. We also find that it is possible to rotate and uniformly align the nematic droplets by using a weak magnetic field (B ∼ 0.3 T). An analysis of the dynamics of relaxation of the orientations of the 5CB droplets following removal of the magnetic field reveals the DSCG and 5CB droplets to be coupled by energies of ∼10(4) kT, consistent with a simple theoretical estimate of the influence of anisotropic van der Waals interactions. We also observed the nematic 5CB droplets to form dimers and larger assemblies mediated by the elasticity of the nematic DSCG. Overall, these results reveal that LC-in-LC emulsions define a new class of hierarchically ordered soft matter in which both thermotropic and lyotropic LCs are coupled in their ordering.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peter C Mushenheim
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1415 Engineering Drive, Madison, WI 53706, USA.
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