Soft Matter最新文献

{"title":"Probing wetting properties with self-propelled droplets.","authors":"Bernardo Boatini, Cristina Gavazzoni, Leonardo Gregory Brunnet, Carolina Brito","doi":"10.1039/d5sm00492f","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1039/d5sm00492f","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Wetting phenomena are relevant in several technological applications, particularly those involving hydrophobic or hydrophilic surfaces. Many substrates support multiple wetting states depending on surface conditions or droplet history-a behavior known as metastability. This feature is crucial both for its theoretical complexity and for its relevance in practical applications that rely on controlling metastable states. While several experimental and computational techniques have been developed to study metastability, they tend to be complex or computationally expensive. In this work, we introduce an alternative approach based on concepts from active matter physics. We investigate the wetting behavior of a droplet placed on a pillared surface using a 3-state cellular Potts model with a polarity term that mimics a self-propelled droplet. Applying this model to a pillared substrate with known metastable wetting states, we demonstrate that increasing activity enables the droplet to traverse free energy barriers, explore consecutive metastable states, and eventually suppress metastability entirely. Our results show that activity reduces the disparity between dry and wet states and provides a reliable framework for identifying and quantifying metastability through contact angle measurements.</p>","PeriodicalId":103,"journal":{"name":"Soft Matter","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2025-08-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144936843","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":"Bacterial cell membrane models: choosing the lipid composition.","authors":"Alexandra L Martin, Philip N Jemmett, Thomas Howitt, Mary H Wood, Liam R Cox, Timothy R Dafforn, Mario Campana, Rebecca J L Welbourn, Maximilian W A Skoda, Luke A Clifton, Hadeel Hussain, Jonathan L Rawle, Francesco Carlà, Christopher L Nicklin, Thomas Arnold, Sarah L Horswell","doi":"10.1039/d5sm00378d","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1039/d5sm00378d","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The reasons for the wide diversity of lipids found in natural cell membranes are still not fully understood but could potentially be exploited in treating disease and infection. This study aims to establish whether charge alone or specific chemical structure of an anionic lipid headgroup determines the structure and properties of model bacterial cell membranes. We compare different compositions of a zwitterionic lipid di-myristoyl phosphatidylethanolamine (DMPE) and two anionic lipids, di-myristoyl phosphatidylglycerol (DMPG) and tetra-myristoyl cardiolipin (TMCL). TMCL has a distinct condensing effect, increasing packing and decreasing the pressures of the phase transitions. Although relatively well solvated itself, TMCL does not substantially alter the solvation of mixed monolayers or bilayers. DMPE:TMCL mixtures have very similar electrochemical behaviour to mixtures of DMPE with di-myristoyl phosphatidylserine (DMPS) but DMPE:DMPG bilayers have greater surface charges. A ternary mixture representing an <i>Escherichia coli</i> membrane has similar electrochemical response to but is more tightly packed than DMPE:DMPG. These results establish the importance of the anionic lipid in modelling different types of cell membranes: DMPG will be required in model bacterial membranes and should not be replaced with DMPS. Even very small amounts of CL will have a measurable effect on structure, so its inclusion is important. Our results also highlight the importance of diverse techniques in understanding membrane behaviour: reflectivity measurements of monolayers over a range of surface pressure provide excellent insight into the electrochemical responses of lipid bilayers, while surface diffraction and infrared spectroscopy are much more sensitive to differences in packing between lipids.</p>","PeriodicalId":103,"journal":{"name":"Soft Matter","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2025-08-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12379600/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144936658","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Lattice-dependent orientational order in active crystals.","authors":"Till Welker, Ricard Alert","doi":"10.1039/d5sm00627a","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1039/d5sm00627a","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Via mechanisms not accessible at equilibrium, self-propelled particles can form phases with positional order, such as crystals, and with orientational order, such as polar flocks. However, the interplay between these two types of order remains relatively unexplored. Here, we address this point by studying crystals of active particles that turn either towards or away from each other, which can be experimentally realised with phoretic or Janus colloids or with elastically-coupled walker robots. We show that, depending on how these interactions vary with interparticle distance, the particles align along directions determined by the underlying crystalline lattice. To explain the results, we map the orientational dynamics of the active crystal onto a lattice of spins that interact <i>via</i> (anti-)ferromagnetic alignment with each other plus nematic alignment with the lattice directions. Our findings indicate that orientational and positional order can be strongly coupled in active crystals, thus suggesting strategies to control orientational order by engineering the underlying crystalline lattice.</p>","PeriodicalId":103,"journal":{"name":"Soft Matter","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2025-08-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144936732","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":"Revisiting the solution properties of sodium alginate in aqueous media.","authors":"Cheng-Hao Yang, Yu Wei, Chia-Yun Tsao, Chi-Chung Hua","doi":"10.1039/d5sm00310e","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1039/d5sm00310e","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>We conduct a comprehensive characterization study of two standard commercial sodium alginate (SA) samples in aqueous media over a wide range of experimental conditions. While the general viscometric features are basically not different from previous reports on aqueous SA solutions, corresponding dynamic light scattering and depolarized dynamic light scattering analyses reveal, for the first time, the dominance of highly uniform, micron-sized and slightly anisotropic oblate spheroids. The solutions are later used to produce uniform micron-fibers in thin films <i>via</i> a slow quenching (30 min) at 90 °C, with the fiber diameters matching those of the oblate colloids in pristine solutions. The van Gurp-Palmen plot of dynamic rheology data over a wide range of SA solutions with varying temperatures, concentrations, and molecular weights exhibits an excellent superposition and colloidal features. The present findings suggest that SA has the propensity to form dominantly colloidal clusters in aqueous media and, in particular, the capability to produce highly uniform self-assemblies from the solution to quenching state.</p>","PeriodicalId":103,"journal":{"name":"Soft Matter","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2025-08-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144936787","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":"From single microgels to dense microgel monolayers – investigation by atomic force microscopy","authors":"Simon Schog, M. Friederike Schulte, Steffen Bochenek, Timon Kratzenberg and Walter Richtering","doi":"10.1039/D5SM00522A","DOIUrl":"10.1039/D5SM00522A","url":null,"abstract":"<p >Due to their unique properties, microgels have garnered large interest in recent times for various applications, including interfacial applications. In this work, we study the internal structure of microgels within microgel monolayers at solid–liquid interfaces using atomic force microscopy (AFM). To capture the rich phase behavior of microgels, the monolayers were deposited at different surface pressures, offering insights into their structural responses under varying compression conditions. The results of the measurements show that the confinement of microgels within a dense monolayer impacts their internal structure and leads to an increase in the contact stiffness, and therefore polymer density, from the third compression regime onward. Additionally, the compression of microgels at the solid–liquid interface leads to the emergence of an attractive interaction between microgels and the sharp AFM tip, resulting in jumps-to-contact in the recorded force–distance curves. The occurrence of jumps-to-contact at high lateral compressions suggests a structural transition within the microgel monolayer, leading to an increase in van-der-Waals and/or electrostatic interactions between microgel and AFM tip.</p>","PeriodicalId":103,"journal":{"name":"Soft Matter","volume":" 35","pages":" 6984-6994"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2025-08-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlepdf/2025/sm/d5sm00522a?page=search","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144936615","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Flow-driven translocation of comb-like copolymer vesicles through a nanochannel: the influence of nanochannel size and vesicle membrane thickness","authors":"Mantang Zhou, Qiaoyue Chen, Danfeng Liu, Lili Zhang and Mingming Ding","doi":"10.1039/D5SM00560D","DOIUrl":"10.1039/D5SM00560D","url":null,"abstract":"<p >We employed a hybrid simulation approach that combines a lattice-Boltzmann (LB) method for simulating fluid flow with a molecular dynamics (MD) model for the polymers to investigate the translocation of comb-like copolymer vesicles driven by fluid flow through a nanochannel. Our findings reveal that the relationship between the critical flow rate (<em>Q</em><small>_c</small>) and the nanochannel diameter (<em>D</em><small>_<em>x</em></small>) can be divided into two distinct stages. In the first stage, when <em>D</em><small>_v</small>/<em>D</em><small>_<em>x</em></small> is greater than 1.5 (<em>D</em><small>_v</small> represents the diameter of the vesicle), the vesicles translocate through a fragmentation mode. This involves the formation of split spherical micelles and worm-like micelles, following the relationship <em>Q</em><small>_c</small>∼ −<em>D</em><small>_<em>x</em></small>. In the second stage, when <em>D</em><small>_v</small>/<em>D</em><small>_<em>x</em></small> falls below 1.5, the vesicles can be compressed into stretched shapes or experience little to no change during passage. This mode of translocation is referred to as intact translocation, and the relationship changes to <em>Q</em><small>_c</small>∼ 1/<em>D</em><small>_<em>x</em></small>. We also found that for vesicles of the same size, increasing the membrane thickness by extending the backbone length of assembled comb-like copolymers significantly raises the critical flow rate. Additionally, when comparing comb-like vesicles with block copolymer vesicles of identical size and membrane thickness, the critical flow rate for block copolymer vesicles is approximately 30 times greater than that of comb-like vesicles. These insights have important implications for the design and optimization of comb-like copolymer vesicle systems used in drug delivery, gene therapy, and nanotechnology applications.</p>","PeriodicalId":103,"journal":{"name":"Soft Matter","volume":" 35","pages":" 6930-6936"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2025-08-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144936666","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":"Phase behavior of catenated-linear DNA mixtures","authors":"Indresh Yadav and Patrick S. Doyle","doi":"10.1039/D5SM00461F","DOIUrl":"10.1039/D5SM00461F","url":null,"abstract":"<p >Understanding the phase behavior of multicomponent systems is crucial in condensed matter physics, both for practical applications and fundamental exploration. Regardless of chemical composition, topology stands out as a crucial parameter in this context. We studied herein the phase behavior of a 2D catenated network of DNA rings called a kinetoplast in the presence of linear DNA. We examine the system at a fixed kinetoplast DNA concentration and linear DNA size, while varying the concentration of linear DNA. The mixing of circular DNA with linear DNA is reported to lead to the isotropic phase of the mixtures, however, catenated DNA rings (the assembly of circular DNA) lead to the phase separation in the presence of linear DNA. This distinction highlights the profound influence of topology on the phase behavior of polymer blends. The phase-separated aggregates of kinetoplasts exhibit a fractal nature, with the fractal dimension indicating the dominance of the diffusion-limited mechanism in the aggregation process. Although the structure of these aggregates is robust, significant thermal fluctuations in size and shape occur at various length scales. The understanding of the bulk phase behavior of the catenated DNA network provides crucial insights in designing the catenated-linear polymer composites.</p>","PeriodicalId":103,"journal":{"name":"Soft Matter","volume":" 35","pages":" 6919-6929"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2025-08-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlepdf/2025/sm/d5sm00461f?page=search","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144936796","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Structural complexity driven by liquid–liquid crystal phase separation of smectics","authors":"Christopher A. Browne, Yuma Morimitsu, Na Kyung Kim, Manesh Gopinadhan, Eric B. Sirota, Ozcan Altintas, Kazem V. Edmond, Paul A. Heiney and Chinedum O. Osuji","doi":"10.1039/D5SM00487J","DOIUrl":"10.1039/D5SM00487J","url":null,"abstract":"<p >Many phase separated systems—including industrial nanocomposites, biomaterials, and cellular condensates—can form dispersed droplets that exhibit internal liquid crystalline ordering. The elasticity of the internal liquid crystalline mesophase often reshapes the droplet geometry, resulting in structures such as filaments, tactoids, tori, and surface facets. Our recent work demonstrated that by slowly cooling into the binodal from a well-mixed state, the dynamics of this liquid–liquid crystal phase separation (LLCPS) can give rise to striking filamentous networks of smectic condensates. Here, we investigated how choice of mesogen, solvent, and concentration can dramatically alter these networks. Using X-ray scattering, we observed that the solvent swells the smectic layers, seemingly reducing the smectic layer's bend modulus, altering the geometric structure of the network. Consistent with this interpretation, samples with a higher smectic layer swelling exhibited more geometrically-complex structures that require higher smectic layer bending to form. We further demonstrated that the formation of filaments and networks does not occur in all systems exhibiting coexistence of a smectic and isotropic phase. Instead, we only observed filament and network formation when the smectic phase developed directly from the isotropic phase—further highlighting the importance of path-dependence in forming these non-equilibrium structures. These results demonstrate some of the structural diversity of dispersed droplet geometries that can be accessed by LLCPS, and elucidate some of the requisite conditions for them to form networked morphologies.</p>","PeriodicalId":103,"journal":{"name":"Soft Matter","volume":" 34","pages":" 6751-6761"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2025-08-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlepdf/2025/sm/d5sm00487j?page=search","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144820121","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Deciphering supramolecular and polymer-like behavior in metallogels: real-time insights into temperature-modulated gelation and rapid self-assembly dynamics","authors":"Jinnipha Pajoubpong, Marzieh Mirzamani, Diksha Gambhir, Christopher J. Garvey, Xiaobing Zuo, Lilin He, Arnab Dawn and Harshita Kumari","doi":"10.1039/D5SM00420A","DOIUrl":"10.1039/D5SM00420A","url":null,"abstract":"<p >Bis(pyridyl) urea-based gelators, namely <strong>L2</strong> and its isomeric mixture (<strong>L1</strong> + <strong>L2</strong>), are known to self-assemble into 1D architectures capable of inducing supramolecular gelation. Coordination with metal ions such as Ag(<small>I</small>), Cu(<small>II</small>), and Fe(<small>III</small>) introduces structural reinforcement, enabling the formation of distinct 3D networks governed by metal-specific coordination geometries. Here, we present a comprehensive investigation into the temperature-responsive behavior (20–60 °C) of <strong>L2</strong> and <strong>L1</strong> + <strong>L2</strong>, both in the absence and presence of Ag(<small>I</small>), Dy(<small>III</small>), Fe(<small>III</small>), Cu(<small>II</small>), and Ho(<small>III</small>), using real-time small-angle neutron scattering (SANS). To probe long-term structural evolution/kinetics of self-assembly, real-time small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) was employed on <strong>L2</strong> + Ag gels, complemented by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) to evaluate thermal transitions. Our results reveal strikingly divergent gelation behaviors: <strong>L2</strong> forms a highly rigid, covalent polymer-like network, while <strong>L1</strong> + <strong>L2</strong> exhibits remarkable thermal adaptability. Upon metal coordination, the assemblies exhibit pronounced crystallinity and exceptional thermal stability, as evidenced by persistent Bragg reflections and invariant <em>d</em>-spacings. Intriguingly, <strong>L2</strong> : Fe (2 : 1) and <strong>L1</strong> : <strong>L2</strong> : Fe (0.5 : 0.5 : 1) in acetonitrile-d<small>₃</small> (ACN-d<small>₃</small>) deviate from this trend, forming thermally labile amorphous gels. These systems show a complete loss of crystalline order, reduced Porod exponents—indicative of collapsed or branched fiber morphologies—and prominent melting and glass transition events in DSC. Fitting SANS and SAXS data to the correlation length model unveiled insightful nanostructural features. While most systems displayed minimal temperature-induced variation in mesh size or surface morphology, <strong>L2</strong> : Ag in dimethyl sulfoxide-d<small>₆</small> (DMSO-d<small>₆</small>)/D<small>₂</small>O and <strong>L2</strong> : Fe (1 : 1) in ACN-d<small>₃</small> exhibited a rare combination of thermally stable correlation lengths and increasing high-<em>q</em> exponents—strongly suggesting progressive fiber densification or surface smoothing within a robust gel framework. These findings highlight the tunability and structural resilience of supramolecular gels through precise control of ligand architecture, metal coordination, and temperature, offering valuable design principles for functional soft materials.</p>","PeriodicalId":103,"journal":{"name":"Soft Matter","volume":" 35","pages":" 6963-6974"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2025-08-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlepdf/2025/sm/d5sm00420a?page=search","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144936603","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Phase-field model for quantitative analysis of droplet wetting","authors":"Jeff Z. Y. Chen","doi":"10.1039/D5SM00593K","DOIUrl":"10.1039/D5SM00593K","url":null,"abstract":"<p >A general phase-field formalism is presented, aimed at capturing the excess surface energies and geometric profiles of three-dimensional, asymmetric liquid droplets on solid surfaces. To ensure strict volume conservation of the droplet, a nonlinear definition is employed for the internal volume. To facilitate modeling in systems where the interface widths approach zero, an extrapolation method is proposed to interpret data obtained at finite interface widths. The numerically tractable algorithm yields accurate predictions for the excess surface energies and state diagrams of known wetting configurations on both the external and internal surfaces of cylinders, demonstrating quantitative agreement with established results from other models and computational techniques.</p>","PeriodicalId":103,"journal":{"name":"Soft Matter","volume":" 35","pages":" 6937-6952"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2025-08-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlepdf/2025/sm/d5sm00593k?page=search","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144936784","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}