15-05-2013 | Mingguang Li; Ying Li; Jiangang Liu; Lixiang Wang; Yanchun Han, Soft Matter, 2013

Micron-sized fibers of n-type pyrazine-based acene-type molecule (PBA) spin-coated films were formed after solvent vapor annealing (SVA). PBA fibers dramatically transformed into quadrilateral crystals after blending with semiconducting polymers under identical post-treatment procedures. For ...

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15-05-2013 | Duyang Zang; Paul S. Clegg, Soft Matter, 2013

An emulsion can undergo a catastrophic inversion from water droplets in oil to oil droplets in water driven by a change in the proportions of the two liquids. This can occur without hysteresis in particle-stabilized emulsions, an effect that was first systematically studied in emulsions of ...

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15-05-2013 | James D. Farrell; Christabel Lines; James J. Shepherd; Dwaipayan Chakrabarti; Mark A. Miller; David J. Wales, Soft Matter, 2013

Clusters of spherical particles with isotropic attraction favour compact structures that maximise the number of energetically optimal nearest-neighbour interactions. In contrast, dipolar interactions lead to the formation of chains with a low coordination number. When both isotropic and ...

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15-05-2013 | Hidehiro Oana; Mutsuki Morinaga; Akihiro Kishimura; Kazunori Kataoka; Masao Washizu, Soft Matter, 2013

Although hollow microscopic capsules have a variety of potential biomedical applications, reports of organic-solvent-free methods for their preparation are rather limited. Herein, a novel approach is demonstrated for organic-solvent-free preparation of giant unilamellar vesicles utilizing the ...

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15-05-2013 | Qing Liang, Soft Matter, 2013

Surface functionalization is an efficient method to modify the properties of nanoparticles for nanomedical and other applications. Here, we investigate the penetration of polymer-grafted nanoparticles through a lipid bilayer using self-consistent field theory. We examine the morphological ...

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15-05-2013 | Takeaki Araki; Francesca Serra; Hajime Tanaka, Soft Matter, 2013

Spontaneous symmetry breaking while preserving flow ability is a remarkable feature of nematic liquid crystals. When a nematic liquid crystal coexists with a solid, the surface field of the solid tends to anchor the director direction on the surface: anchoring effects. If geometrical ...

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15-05-2013 | Z. L. Yao; N. Grishkewich; K. C. Tam, Soft Matter, 2013

In this review, we describe the recent progress in the synthesis of responsive micro/nanogels and their swelling properties, with specific focus on the shear viscosity and the scaling relationship of stimuli-responsive micro/nanogel systems. We highlight the recent progress in the scaling ...

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15-05-2013 | Douglas P. Holmes; Behrouz Tavakol; Guillaume Froehlicher; Howard A. Stone, Soft Matter, 2013

We utilize elastic deformations via mechanical actuation to control and direct fluid flow within a flexible microfluidic device. The device consists of a microchannel with a flexible arch prepared by the buckling of a thin elastic film. The deflection of the arch can be predicted and ...

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15-05-2013 | Dong-Hwee Kim; Allison B. Chambliss; Denis Wirtz, Soft Matter, 2013

The perinuclear actin cap (or actin cap) is a recently characterized cytoskeletal organelle composed of thick, parallel, and highly contractile acto-myosin filaments that are specifically anchored to the apical surface of the interphase nucleus. The actin cap is present in a wide range of ...

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15-05-2013 | Carlos Avendaño; Chekesha M. Liddell Watson; Fernando A. Escobedo, Soft Matter, 2013

In this work we use Monte Carlo simulations to study the phase behavior of spherical caps confined between two parallel hard walls separated by a distance H. The particle model consists of a hard sphere of diameter σ cut off by a plane at a height χ, and it is loosely based on mushroom ...

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