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A Micropatterning Assay for Measuring Cell Chirality
Published on: March 11, 2022
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Reversible water driven chirality inversion in cellulose-based helices isolated from Erodium awns
Ana P C Almeida1, Lara Querciagrossa2, Pedro E S Silva1
1CENIMAT/I3N, Departamento de Ciência dos Materiais, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, FCT, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, Campus da Caparica, 2829-516 Caparica, Portugal. mhg@fct.unl.pt.
Soft Matter
|March 15, 2019
Summary
Researchers isolated tunable, cellulose-based materials from Erodium plant awns. These hygroscopic materials exhibit reversible helical structures responsive to humidity changes, offering potential for advanced applications.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Plant Biology
- Biophysics
Background:
- Plant structures, like Erodium awns, exhibit hygroscopic movements for seed dispersal.
- Cellulose-based materials possess unique mechanical and responsive properties.
Purpose of the Study:
- To isolate and characterize cellulose-based hygroscopic responsive materials from Erodium awns.
- To investigate the mechanism behind humidity-induced structural changes and chirality actuation.
Main Methods:
- Isolation of cellulose-based materials from dead Erodium tissues.
- Characterization of helical structures using microscopy.
- Computational simulations to model humidity-driven asymmetric contraction/expansion.
Main Results:
- Successfully isolated stimuli-responsive cellulose ribbons forming left-handed (L) or right-handed (R) helices.
- Demonstrated reversible transformation to R helices upon drying, driven by humidity.
- Explained chirality inversion via simulations of asymmetric filament behavior.
Conclusions:
- Erodium awns provide a simple, efficient source for tunable, cellulose-based hygroscopic materials.
- Humidity-actuated chirality in these materials opens possibilities for micro-machines and intelligent textiles.
- The plant's nanoscale imprinting of cellulose networks is key to the material's soft-wall polysaccharide matrix reinforcement.
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