Soft Matter最新文献

{"title":"Chitobiose as CO₂-responsive bridge: constructing wormlike micelles with sodium 2-(dodecanoyloxy)ethanesulfonate.","authors":"Meng Mu, Heng Liu, Xing Zhang, Zhenqiang Mao, Ran Liu, Xiangyu Zhang, Xin Su, Di Qi, Yanhong Peng, Mingmin Zhang","doi":"10.1039/d6sm00690f","DOIUrl":"10.1039/d6sm00690f","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Stimuli-responsive wormlike micelles (WLMs) have garnered widespread attention as intelligent soft materials, but most existing CO₂-switchable WLM systems are based on synthetic or petroleum-derived components that are toxic and non-biodegradable. To address the above problem, we have constructed a fully bio-based, ultra-low-toxicity CO₂-responsive pseudo-Gemini WLM system using sodium 2-(dodecanoyloxy)ethanesulfonate (SLI) and chitobiose, a renewable disaccharide derived from chitin. After CO₂ sparging, the primary amine of chitobiose is protonated and electrostatically binds two SLI anions to form a pseudo-gemini structure, which increases the packing parameter, and thus drives the formation of long-entangled wormlike micelles; this has been verified by cryo-TEM and rheology. The system can switch between a low-viscosity Newtonian fluid (<i>η</i>₀ ≈ 2.5 mPa s) and a highly viscoelastic fluid (<i>η</i>₀ ≈ 8500 mPa s) reversibly multiple times, with a ∼3400-fold amplitude, and has good cycling stability. The system also has an import of 78% ± 5% biodegradation in 21 days (OECD 301B) and is very gentle on the skin; it significantly outperforms traditional SDS/TMPDA. The green route can provide a good platform for CO₂-switchable soft materials and will have all sorts of applications in biomedicine, food additives and personal care products.</p>","PeriodicalId":103,"journal":{"name":"Soft Matter","volume":" ","pages":"6635-6643"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2026-10-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149029319","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Theoretical modeling of the maximum spreading factor of an impacting droplet on cantilever beams.","authors":"Shu-Rong Gao, Zi-Xuan Wang, Zhi-Kang He, Yi-Feng Wang, Yan-Ru Yang, Cong-Liang Huang, Xiao-Dong Wang","doi":"10.1039/d6sm00650g","DOIUrl":"10.1039/d6sm00650g","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>This study systematically investigates the dynamic behaviors of a droplet impinging on cantilever beams <i>via</i> experimental tests and theoretical analysis, with the aim of establishing a quantitative model for the maximum spreading factor of the droplet. The effects of the Weber number (We), surface wettability (<i>θ</i>_adv), and substrate stiffness (<i>K</i>_b) on droplet impact dynamics are comprehensively explored. The results reveal that the Weber number dominates the variation in the maximum spreading factor, whereas surface wettability and substrate stiffness exert relatively insignificant effects. Based on the energy conservation principle, a predictive model for the maximum spreading factor of a droplet impacting cantilever beams is developed. The proposed model well characterizes the competitive and synergistic coupling effects of inertial force, capillary force, and structural deformation under diverse wettability and stiffness conditions. Moreover, the model is extended to adapt to wider liquid viscosity ranges, and its predictive generality is validated within the parameter ranges of We = 20.76-51.91, <i>θ</i>_adv = 126°-147°, <i>K</i>_b = 0.63-11.85 N m^-1, Re = 327-650, and <i>σ</i> = 0.0695-0.0720 N m^-1. This study introduces the first theoretical model of the maximum spreading factor that explicitly incorporates the influence of surface elastic forces into the classical framework, thereby enhancing predictive accuracy across a broad spectrum of elastic substrates.</p>","PeriodicalId":103,"journal":{"name":"Soft Matter","volume":" ","pages":"6611-6622"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2026-10-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149023365","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Brillouin spectroscopy of collagen hydrogels and glycerol solutions: effect of hydration.","authors":"V A Zykova, A V Laktionova, N V Surovtsev","doi":"10.1039/d6sm00766j","DOIUrl":"10.1039/d6sm00766j","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Brillouin spectroscopy is rapidly gaining popularity in the study of biological objects. However, modeling the results of Brillouin experiments in such materials is a complex task, especially to take into account the contribution of water. Here, we investigated the Brillouin spectra of a collagen hydrogel, which mimics real tissues, over the entire range of water concentrations. The Brillouin spectra of glycerol solutions with concentrations ranging from pure water to pure glycerol as an example of a simple aqueous binary system were examined. It was found that a combination of the Reuss and Voigt models can describe the elastic properties of both of these binary aqueous compounds over the entire concentration range. Orientational relaxation spectra were measured using depolarized light scattering to shed light on the behavior of the Brillouin linewidth. Unlike glycerol solutions, the concentration dependence of the Brillouin linewidth in collagen hydrogels was not reflected in the dependence of the orientational susceptibility. This points to the peculiarity of longitudinal relaxation in hydrogels.</p>","PeriodicalId":103,"journal":{"name":"Soft Matter","volume":" ","pages":"6702-6709"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2026-10-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149068687","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Compression-enhanced mobility during finite-cluster growth in a soft colloidal SALR fluid.","authors":"Murilo Sodré Marques, José Rafael Bordin","doi":"10.1039/d6sm00764c","DOIUrl":"10.1039/d6sm00764c","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Short-range-attractive, long-range-repulsive (SALR) interactions generate organization over multiple length scales, making the relation between aggregation and particle transport inherently nontrivial. Here, we use molecular-dynamics simulations to investigate how compression affects structure and mobility in a three-dimensional soft-colloidal SALR fluid derived from polymer-grafted nanoparticles. The self-diffusion coefficient exhibits a pronounced minimum followed by an extended regime of compression-enhanced mobility. This crossover does not coincide with cluster dissolution, system-scale connectivity, or a sharp exchange between competing local coordination environments. Instead, compression promotes finite-cluster growth while predominantly weakening intermediate-range SALR correlations. Direct tracking of local cluster neighborhoods further shows that particle exchange becomes systematically more frequent across the diffusion minimum. Thus, enhanced long-time mobility develops in a fluid that becomes more locally associated while simultaneously reorganizing at larger length scales. For the effective interaction investigated here, these results reveal a scale-dependent structure-dynamics relationship in which aggregation, mesoscopic organization, and particle transport need not evolve in parallel.</p>","PeriodicalId":103,"journal":{"name":"Soft Matter","volume":" ","pages":"6574-6581"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2026-10-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149023317","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Microfluidic phase inversion for nanoemulsification <i>via</i> surfactant-affinity modulation.","authors":"Shuzo Masui, Yusuke Kanno, Takasi Nisisako","doi":"10.1039/d6sm00506c","DOIUrl":"10.1039/d6sm00506c","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Phase inversion emulsification (PIE) is an energy-efficient route to nanoemulsions, but its dynamics are difficult to resolve in conventional stirred systems because formulation, interfacial transport, and hydrodynamic effects are strongly coupled. Here, we present a continuous-flow microfluidic platform for PIE using an aqueous phase containing Tween 80 and an oil phase containing Span 20. The relative flow rates of the two phases were varied to adjust the aqueous volume fraction and the nominal blended hydrophilic-lipophilic balance of the formulation. In a 1 m-long hydrophobic microchannel, W/O droplets generated upstream evolved along the channel. At an aqueous volume fraction of 0.9, water-continuous structures coexisted with W/O/W double-emulsion-like intermediates near the outlet, coinciding with a marked decrease in the aqueous-phase inlet pressure. Outlet conductivity measurements and dynamic light scattering indicated that the collected samples contained O/W nanoemulsions with mean hydrodynamic diameters of 100-250 nm. Dynamic pendant-drop measurements further showed that the interfacial tension of the two-surfactant formulation decreased to approximately 0.2 mN m^-1 within 7 s before drop detachment. These observations are consistent with surfactant-mediated interfacial reorganization during transport, although the local surfactant-transfer pathway and the independent effects of flow rate and residence time were not resolved. The platform provides an optically accessible continuous-flow system for studying phase inversion and low-energy nanoemulsion formation.</p>","PeriodicalId":103,"journal":{"name":"Soft Matter","volume":" ","pages":"6566-6573"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2026-10-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148785871","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A thin film model for statics and dynamics of electro(de)wetting on soft and liquid dielectrics.","authors":"Shreyank Goel, Shreyanil Bhuyan, Dipin S Pillai","doi":"10.1039/d6sm00519e","DOIUrl":"10.1039/d6sm00519e","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The contact line dynamics of sessile droplets on soft dielectrics under an electric field is crucial for applications in flexible electronics and point-of-care diagnostics. This study presents a reduced-order model based on lubrication theory to investigate the electrohydrodynamic spreading and retraction dynamics of a sessile droplet on a deformable dielectric under the pinned electrode configuration. The mechanical response of the soft dielectric is characterized using the Kelvin-Voigt model, while the influence of the electric field on the interfacial energy is incorporated based on the electrical energy stored due to dielectric polarization upon electrification. A theoretical framework is established that relates the integrated form of molecular interactions (Hamaker theory) with interfacial tensions of the three phases (Frumkin-Derjaguin theory) and the electric field-dependent equilibrium contact angle (Young-Lippmann law). This enables the incorporation of the coupled effects of dielectric deformation, viscoelastic dissipation, and the imposed electric field in the evolution equations. The set of non-linear evolution equations is solved numerically to obtain the spatiotemporal dynamics of droplet shape and the dielectric deformation. A range of substrate rheologies, ranging from purely elastic to purely viscous limits, are explored. Both the static and dynamic aspects of the spreading and dewetting are shown to be governed by the bulk substrate rheology and the deformation induced by coupling of the substrate softness and the imposed electric field. The model predicts that an increase in substrate softness and viscoelastic dissipation leads to a reduction in the overall rate and extent of both electrowetting and electrodewetting, consistent with previous experimental observations.</p>","PeriodicalId":103,"journal":{"name":"Soft Matter","volume":" ","pages":"6593-6610"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2026-10-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149023295","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Loop-based compactivity in jammed granular packings: linking topology and geometry.","authors":"Shanshan Shi, Peijun Guo, Fan Yu, Shiping Zhang, Ping Wu","doi":"10.1039/d6sm00784h","DOIUrl":"10.1039/d6sm00784h","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Edwards' statistical mechanics offers a thermodynamic framework for jammed granular matter, but identifying volume-like measures that capture mesoscopic topology and remain meaningful under shear remains a core challenge. Conventional per-particle Voronoi tessellations average out contact-network topology, limiting resolution of structural disorder and intermittent plastic dynamics. We develop a mesoscopic statistical framework for 2D granular assemblies based on particle contact loops, characterizing microstates jointly by loop order <i>K</i> and normalized loop area <i>V</i>, and derive a loop-based modified compactivity <i>X</i> extended to quasi-static biaxial compression. Discrete element simulations show that both <i>K</i> and <i>V</i> follow exponential distributions, consistent with a maximum-entropy loop-based Edwards ensemble; all entropy measures and mutual information <i>I</i>(<i>K</i>;<i>V</i>) increase monotonically with porosity. The derived compactivity rises steeply and diverges at the random loose packing limit, exhibiting systematically larger values and higher sensitivity to mesoscopic disorder than Voronoi-based measures. Under shear, compactivity converges to a stable critical-state plateau synchronized with stress ratio and porosity. The plateau shows pronounced initial-state and path dependence, demonstrating compactivity is not a strictly path-independent thermodynamic state function under far-from-equilibrium driving. The two measures are complementary: Voronoi compactivity tracks smooth global volumetric evolution, while loop-based compactivity resolves intermittent plastic avalanches as a topological probe. This framework offers a robust topological approach for investigating quasi-thermodynamic behavior and geometry-force coupling in jammed and driven granular matter.</p>","PeriodicalId":103,"journal":{"name":"Soft Matter","volume":" ","pages":"6623-6634"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2026-10-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149029347","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Correction: Phase-field model for quantitative analysis of droplet wetting.","authors":"Jeff Z Y Chen","doi":"10.1039/d6sm90155g","DOIUrl":"10.1039/d6sm90155g","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Correction for 'Phase-field model for quantitative analysis of droplet wetting' by Jeff Z. Y. Chen, <i>Soft Matter</i>, 2025, <b>21</b>, 6937-6952, https://doi.org/10.1039/d5sm00593k.</p>","PeriodicalId":103,"journal":{"name":"Soft Matter","volume":" ","pages":"6727"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2026-10-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149101123","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Interfacial encapsulation and desorption of mRNA in dual-oil systems.","authors":"Marco Tulio B W Portella, Thao X D Nguyen, Daeyeon Lee, Kathleen J Stebe, Masoud Soroush, Dimitrios V Papavassiliou","doi":"10.1039/d6sm00542j","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1039/d6sm00542j","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Liquid-liquid systems play an important role in chemical engineering processes, including the separation and handling of biomolecules. In this work, dissipative particle dynamics (DPD) simulations were employed to investigate the desorption and encapsulation behavior of messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA-like) in a water-dual-oil system. Using diethyl phthalate (DEP) as an oil phase with low affinity toward the mRNA-like molecule, the effect of introducing a second solvent with strong affinity toward the mRNA-like molecule (good-oil) was systematically examined. The influence of good-oil volume fraction and mRNA-good-oil interaction parameters on interfacial partitioning and desorption was analyzed. Based on enthalpy-entropy considerations, desorption was found to become thermodynamically unfavorable when the favorable enthalpic interactions between the mRNA-like molecule and the good-oil, together with combinatorial entropic gains, could not compensate for the loss of conformational entropy. The effect of replacing DEP with other mRNA-repelling oils was also investigated. While the identity of the poor oil alters the interfacial position of the macromolecule, the feasibility of desorption and encapsulation is primarily governed by the good-oil fraction and the strength of mRNA-good-oil interactions. Based on these results, a phase map relating system conditions to the feasibility of the encapsulation of the mRNA-like molecule was constructed. Additionally, phase segregation and morphology during desorption were analyzed, revealing a transition from dispersed to stratified regimes as the good-oil fraction increased.</p>","PeriodicalId":103,"journal":{"name":"Soft Matter","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2026-10-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149190264","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Statistical signatures of microorganism motility under environmental stress.","authors":"Luiza Treichel Mossi, Nicole Mazzitelli Narvaz, Larissa da Silva Bento, Roger Modena, Bernardo Boatini, Amalia Garcez, Leonardo Gregory Brunnet, Alexandre Arenzon, Carolina Brito","doi":"10.1039/d6sm00525j","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1039/d6sm00525j","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The motility of microorganisms and small aquatic organisms provides a natural framework for studying active matter and its response to environmental perturbations. In this work, we experimentally investigate the trajectories of <i>Paramecium caudatum</i> and <i>Artemia salina</i> individuals under controlled laboratory conditions. Using video microscopy, we track the motion of organisms at low population densities and reconstruct individual trajectories over time. In addition to baseline conditions, we analyze stressed environments in which <i>Paramecium caudatum</i> are exposed to a toxic agent and <i>Artemia salina</i> are placed in distilled water. To characterize the statistical properties of the motion, we compute several trajectory-based metrics, including the mean square displacement, velocity and displacement distributions, average velocities, persistence times and lengths, tortuosity, and radius of gyration. These observables allow us to quantify changes in motility patterns across species, densities, and environmental conditions. To further interpret the observed dynamics, we develop coarse-grained stochastic models with parameters extracted directly from the experimental data. While <i>P. caudatum</i> is described within a run-and-tumble framework, including reversal events under stress, <i>A. salina</i> requires a run-and-tumble-like description with persistent orientational noise, accounting for the continuous directional fluctuations observed during its runs. The models reproduce the main trajectory-level observables used for quantitative comparison, namely tortuosity and radius of gyration. This combined experimental and modeling approach provides insight into how environmental stress modifies locomotion statistics. Our results highlight systematic differences in the statistical signatures of motion across conditions and organisms, suggesting that trajectory-based metrics may serve as indicators of physiological stress. Beyond their biological relevance, this work provides an accessible framework for active matter experiments in which individual-level statistics can be directly measured and modeled.</p>","PeriodicalId":103,"journal":{"name":"Soft Matter","volume":"22 39","pages":"6666-6676"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2026-10-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149178090","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}