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High-Contrast and Fast Photorheological Switching of a Twist-Bend Nematic Liquid Crystal
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Straining soft colloids in aqueous nematic liquid crystals.

Peter C Mushenheim1, Joel S Pendery1, Douglas B Weibel2

  • 1Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706;

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Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Nematic liquid crystals (LCs) dynamically shape soft colloids like giant unilamellar vesicles (GUVs). Elastic stresses transform GUVs into spindle shapes, revealing insights into LC-based responsive materials.

Keywords:
elasticityliquid crystalssoft colloidsstrainvesicles

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Area of Science:

  • Soft matter physics
  • Materials science
  • Biophysics

Background:

  • Liquid crystals (LCs) are anisotropic fluids with long-range molecular order.
  • Giant unilamellar vesicles (GUVs) are model soft colloids with tunable membrane properties.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate how elastic stresses from nematic LCs dynamically shape soft colloids.
  • To explore the tuning of physical properties of soft colloids confined within LC phases.
  • To understand the interplay between LC elasticity and GUV membrane mechanics.

Main Methods:

  • Confining giant unilamellar vesicles (GUVs) within aqueous chromonic liquid crystal (LC) phases.
  • Inducing shape transformations via thermal quenching from isotropic to LC phases.
  • Analyzing GUV shapes and dimensions using microscopy and thermodynamic principles.

Main Results:

  • Spherical GUVs transformed into two populations: slightly strained (aspect ratio < 1.54) and highly elongated spindles (aspect ratio 1.54-10).
  • LC elasticity induced GUV membrane area expansion (up to 3%) with conserved volume for less strained GUVs.
  • Highly elongated GUVs resulted from LC efflux, indicating transient membrane pore formation due to LC-induced straining.
  • GUV shape was governed by a balance between LC elasticity and GUV-LC interfacial energy (~0.01 mN/m).

Conclusions:

  • Elastic stresses in nematic LCs can dynamically deform soft colloids.
  • LC-induced straining can lead to significant shape changes and even transient membrane permeabilization in GUVs.
  • Findings suggest new designs for LC-based responsive and reconfigurable materials.