Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 23, 2026

Forming, Confining, and Observing Microtubule-Based Active Nematics
Published on: January 13, 2023
Photoswitchable chevron topographies of glassy nematic coatings
1CAS Key Laboratory of Mechanical Behavior and Design of Materials, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China.
Abstract:
We report a strategy to create photoswitchable chevron topographies via buckling of glassy nematic coatings with zigzag director alignments on soft elastic substrates. The idea is confirmed by numerical simulations where the nonlinear deformation of the coating is modeled by the Föppl-von Kármán plate theory. It is remarkable that the inclination angle of the chevron pattern may deviate significantly from the director orientation and depends on the period of director alignment. Our quantitative analysis shows that the phenomena are caused by in-plane shear stress which alters the direction of maximum principal stress in the coating and decreases monotonically with decreasing period of the director distribution.
Related Concept Videos
Methods of Obtaining Topography
Clathrin Coated Vesicles
COP Coated Vesicles
Coat Assembly and GTPases
Coat assembly depends on the local availability of phosphatidylinositol phosphates or PIPs and GTP-binding proteins. Adaptor proteins, which link the coat proteins to the membrane, bind to these PIPs and play a crucial role in controlling...
Pinching-off of Coated Vesicles
What is Population Genetics?

