Soft Matter最新文献

{"title":"Voltage-controlled pattern transition of liquid metals in disordered porous media.","authors":"Zilu He, Rui Xiao, Shaoxing Qu, Dong-Sheng Wu","doi":"10.1039/d5sm00599j","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1039/d5sm00599j","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Liquid metals (LMs) have emerged as promising materials in microfluidic systems due to their unique combination of metallic conductivity and fluidic properties, enabling applications in soft electronics, robotics, and reconfigurable circuits. While LMs have frequently been utilized as static components, their dynamic behaviors, particularly their flow patterns in complex microchannels upon different electric voltages and flow rates, remain rarely studied. Understanding voltage-induced pattern transitions, driven by capillary, electric, and Marangoni effects, is crucial for practical device integration. In this study, PDMS-based microfluidic chips were fabricated to systematically investigate the flow behavior of LMs under varying voltages and flow rates. Results show that LM flow patterns are highly dependent on the interplay of voltage and flow rate. At high flow rates, voltage effects diminish, whereas at low flow rates, voltage-induced transitions are observed: from finger-like displacement to tree-like displacement to discontinuous flow, attributed to Marangoni-driven interfacial dynamics. A theoretical model incorporating force balance and interfacial phenomena was proposed to quantify voltage-driven transitions. Our results provide critical guidelines for optimizing microfluidic parameters for LM applications.</p>","PeriodicalId":103,"journal":{"name":"Soft Matter","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-07-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144606899","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":"Dynamic self-organization in fire ant rafts underpins collective longevity and threat responsiveness.","authors":"Zachary T White, Franck J Vernerey","doi":"10.1039/d5sm00390c","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1039/d5sm00390c","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Many living collectives must balance strategies between long-term energy conservation and short-term threat response; the ability for groups to dynamically self-organize into a variety of structures to address these needs is therefore essential. We show that fire ant <i>Solenopsis invicta</i> rafts which form buoyant bilayers in hostile flooded environments, adapt to conserve energy by separating into active and stationary phases. A simple kinetic model incorporating motility induced phase separation provides a useful framework to understand this transition, where ants form clusters by slowing down to participate in social interactions. We find that external stimuli either weakens or strengthens these interactions. The former leads to dissolution of clusters and fast-mobilization of surface ants, revealing how clusters could serve a secondary purpose with rapid mobilization aiding exploration through formation of bridges. These results highlight how swarms and other living groups can adapt survival strategies even in the absence of central control or global knowledge.</p>","PeriodicalId":103,"journal":{"name":"Soft Matter","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-07-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144598864","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":"Optimal first-passage times of active Brownian particles under stochastic resetting","authors":"Yanis Baouche and Christina Kurzthaler","doi":"10.1039/D5SM00340G","DOIUrl":"10.1039/D5SM00340G","url":null,"abstract":"<p >We study the first-passage-time (FPT) properties of an active Brownian particle under stochastic resetting to its initial configuration, comprising its position and orientation, to reach an absorbing wall in two dimensions. We employ a renewal framework for the stochastic resetting process and use a perturbative approach for small Péclet numbers, measuring the relative importance of self-propulsion with respect to diffusion. This allows us to derive analytical expressions for the survival probability, the FPT probability density, and the associated low-order moments. Depending on their initial orientation, the minimal mean FPT for active particles to reach the boundary can both decrease and increase relative to the passive counterpart. The associated optimal resetting rates depend non-trivially on the initial distance to the boundary due to the intricate interplay of resetting, rotational Brownian noise, and active motion.</p>","PeriodicalId":103,"journal":{"name":"Soft Matter","volume":" 29","pages":" 5998-6011"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-07-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlepdf/2025/sm/d5sm00340g?page=search","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144598865","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":"CO₂ transport behavior in poly(fluoroalkyl acrylate) and poly(fluoroalkyl methacrylate): a comparative study of fluoropolymer structure-property relationships.","authors":"Sinan Feng, Yucheng Zhang, Nobuyuki Otozawa, Shinichi Murata, Atsushi Takahara","doi":"10.1039/d5sm00413f","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1039/d5sm00413f","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>This study examines the CO₂ transport behavior of poly(fluoroalkyl acrylate) (PFA) and poly(fluoroalkyl methacrylate) (PFMA) thin films. Using time-resolved attenuated total reflectance Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) and a quartz crystal microbalance (QCM), we quantified CO₂ diffusivity and solubility, linking these properties to the polymer side-chain architecture. The results demonstrate that PFMA exhibits lower CO₂ permeability than PFA at comparable side-chain lengths, owing to restricted chain mobility caused by the α-methyl backbone of PFMA. Additionally, longer fluorinated side chains increase CO₂ diffusivity while simultaneously reducing solubility owing to weaker polar interactions with CO₂. Overall, the CO₂ permeability of PFA surpasses that of the PFMA series because of its higher diffusivity. These findings highlight the intricate balance between diffusivity and solubility governed by the molecular structure.</p>","PeriodicalId":103,"journal":{"name":"Soft Matter","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-07-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144574515","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":"Diverse nanostructures and antimicrobial activity of lipopeptides bearing lysine-rich tripeptide sequences.","authors":"Ian W Hamley, Valeria Castelletto, Callum Rowding, Callum Wilkinson, Lucas R de Mello, Bruno Mendes, Glyn Barrett, Jani Seitsonen","doi":"10.1039/d5sm00432b","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1039/d5sm00432b","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The self-assembly and conformation in aqueous solution and bioactivity of three lipopeptides bearing lysine-rich tripeptide sequences are compared for C₁₆-KFK, C₁₆-KWK, and C₁₆-KYK, where C₁₆ denotes an N-terminal hexadecyl (palmitoyl) chain. The central aromatic residue has a significant effect on the self-assembled nanostructures, since C₁₆-KFK forms nanotubes, whereas the other two lipopeptides form nanotapes. The nanotubes and nanotapes are built from lipopeptide bilayers, as confirmed by small-angle X-ray scattering. Circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy and thioflavin T dye fluorescence show the presence of β-sheet structures, and the latter technique was used to determine critical aggregation concentrations (CACs). Fibre X-ray diffraction for C₁₆-KFK shows a well-defined helical diffraction pattern arising from the helically wrapped bilayers in the nanotube walls. The lipopeptides act as surfactants, as confirmed by surface tension measurements (also used to determine CAC values). All three lipopeptides show minimal cytotoxicity to human fibroblasts but also, unexpectedly, low activity against Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria, in contrast to previously studied analogues (with switch of two residues) C₁₆-WKK and C₁₆-YKK that show significant antimicrobial action with low minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values [A. Adak <i>et al.</i>, <i>ACS Appl. Bio Mater.</i>, 2024, <b>7</b>, 5553-5565]. Also in contrast to these molecules (which show a transition from micelles to fibrils upon increasing the pH), C₁₆-KFK, C₁₆-KWK, and C₁₆-KYK form extended β-sheet structures over the whole pH range examined (pH 2-8). These observations point to the remarkable sensitivity to the tripeptide pattern of lipopeptide self-assembly and antibacterial activity. Whereas the C₁₆-XKK (X = W or Y) lipopeptides form cylindrical fibrils, the C₁₆-KXK analogues form bilayer nanotapes. The former show significant toxicity to bacteria in contrast to the latter, which we propose is due to the effect of the lipopeptide assembly curvature on induced bacterial membrane deformation.</p>","PeriodicalId":103,"journal":{"name":"Soft Matter","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-07-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144574516","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":"Emergent tetratic ordering in autophoretic rods mediated by torque.","authors":"Donghao Cui, Mohd Yasir Khan, Xiaowen Chen, Zuyao Yan, Xianghong Liu, Wei Wang","doi":"10.1039/d5sm00349k","DOIUrl":"10.1039/d5sm00349k","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Chemically driven nanorods offer a powerful platform for studying emergent pattern formation in synthetic microswimmers, where hydrodynamic, electrokinetic, and phoretic interactions play key roles. This study integrates experiments, finite element modeling, and Brownian dynamics simulations to investigate how torque-mediated interactions influence the clustering behavior of self-propelled autophoretic Au-Rh nanorods. At low particle fractions (<i>ϕ</i> < 1%) and high fuel concentrations (5 wt% H₂O₂), the nanorods transiently form dynamic wedge-shaped clusters, aligning along two arms of a V-shaped structure due to torque-driven interactions. As the particle fraction increases (<i>ϕ</i> > 1%), stable dimers, trimers, and higher-order clusters emerge, eventually transitioning to tetratic clusters at (<i>ϕ ∼</i> 10%) under low-fuel conditions (1 wt% H₂O₂). This tetratic ordering, where rods align along two orthogonal axes, appears at intermediate densities, differing from its typical occurrence in denser systems. Finite element simulations reveal that hydrodynamic and electrokinetic interactions generate a net torque of 8.23 × 10^-20 Nm, driving rotational motion that promotes clustering. Meanwhile, Brownian dynamics simulations highlight the interplay between self-propulsion and pairwise rotational interactions in cluster formation. These findings underscore the crucial role of hydrodynamic and phoretic torques in shaping collective behaviors and provide valuable insights for designing active materials and synthetic microswimmer systems capable of self-assembling into functional, high-density structures.</p>","PeriodicalId":103,"journal":{"name":"Soft Matter","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-07-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144574517","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":"Shape matters: inferring the motility of confluent cells from static images.","authors":"Quirine J S Braat, Giulia Janzen, Bas C Jansen, Vincent E Debets, Simone Ciarella, Liesbeth M C Janssen","doi":"10.1039/d5sm00222b","DOIUrl":"10.1039/d5sm00222b","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Cell motility in dense cell collectives is pivotal in various diseases like cancer metastasis and asthma. A central aspect in these phenomena is the heterogeneity in cell motility, but identifying the motility of individual cells is challenging. Previous work has established the importance of the average cell shape in predicting cell dynamics. Here, we aim to identify the importance of individual cell shape features, rather than collective features, to distinguish between high-motility and low-motility (or zero-motility) cells in heterogeneous cell layers. Employing the cellular Potts model, we generate simulation snapshots and extract static features as inputs for a simple machine-learning model. Our results show that when cells are either motile or non-motile, this machine-learning model can accurately predict a cell's phenotype using only single-cell shape features. Furthermore, we explore scenarios where both cell types exhibit some degree of motility, characterized by high or low motility. In such cases, our findings indicate that a neural network trained on shape features can accurately classify cell motility, particularly when the number of highly motile cells is low, and high-motility cells are significantly more motile compared to low-motility cells. This work offers potential for physics-inspired predictions of single-cell properties with implications for inferring cell dynamics from static histological images.</p>","PeriodicalId":103,"journal":{"name":"Soft Matter","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-07-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12235246/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144574519","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":"Magnetically induced drug release from niosome-based nanocarriers loaded with doxorubicin.","authors":"Philip Drake, Ilma Amalina, Retno Sari, Amalia Ruiz, Saliha Ramazan, Gordon Hope, Dharmisthaben Pancholi, Andang Miatmoko","doi":"10.1039/d5sm00411j","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1039/d5sm00411j","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Niosomes co-loaded with doxorubicin and magnetic nanoparticles were synthesised using the thin film hydration method. The loading efficiency of the doxorubicin was between 60-70%. The hydrodynamic diameter measured as the average number (mean ± standard deviation), using dynamic light scattering, was found to be 188 ± 68 nm, 141 ± 86 nm and 169 ± 69 nm for the plain niosomes, niosomes loaded with doxorubicin and niosomes loaded with doxorubicin and magnetic nanoparticles, respectively. The zeta potential for all three niosome samples was determined to be -26.4 mV ± 1.9 mV. The thermally mediated release of doxorubicin was monitored using fluorescence spectroscopy and found to follow 1st order kinetics. The rate constant for the thermal release was 1.2 × 10^-6, 1.0 × 10^-4 and 5.1 × 10^-4 min^-1 at 298, 313 and 333 K, respectively. The doxorubicin was also released using an alternating magnetic field, this also followed 1st order kinetics and had a rate constant of 1.7 × 10^-2 min^-1. This is four orders of magnitude greater than the thermal release at the same temperature (298 K). The work shows the magnetically controlled, burst release from a drug-loaded niosome delivery system. The release was triggered on demand by the application of the alternating magnetic field, resulting in 86% doxorubicin release within 3 hours compared to 3% release in 30 days <i>via</i> thermal release.</p>","PeriodicalId":103,"journal":{"name":"Soft Matter","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-07-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144558559","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":"Investigating hydrogen bonding in poly(vinyl butyral) copolymers near glass-transition temperature under uniaxial stress: a coarse-grained molecular dynamics study†","authors":"Yunhan Zhang, Tingyu Xu, Fan Peng, Renkuan Cao, Ziwei Liu, Hao Sun, Kunpeng Cui and Liangbin Li","doi":"10.1039/D5SM00431D","DOIUrl":"10.1039/D5SM00431D","url":null,"abstract":"<p >Understanding hydrogen bond dynamics and mechanical behavior in amorphous polymers remains a significant challenge. In this work, we selected poly(vinyl butyral) (PVB) copolymers as a model system and employed coarse-grained molecular dynamics (CGMD) simulations to investigate the evolution of hydrogen bonding networks, hydrogen bond dynamics and mechanical response near glass-transition temperature (<em>T</em><small>_g</small>) under uniaxial tensile stress. We systematically studied the effects of vinyl alcohol (VA) content, blockiness parameter, and strain rate on hydrogen bonding networks, hydrogen bond dynamics, and the mechanical properties of PVB copolymers. Our results demonstrate that amorphous PVB experiences chain slippage during deformation, which disrupts intramolecular hydrogen bonds while facilitating the formation of intermolecular hydrogen bonds. Notably, mechanical stress induces a net reduction in total hydrogen bonds prior to fracture, followed by post-fracture relaxation that facilitates hydrogen bond reorganization through coupled mechano-thermal effects. Further analysis of the radius of gyration and hydrogen bond dynamics indicates that PVB copolymers with higher VA content exhibit enhanced chain rigidity. This molecular-level rigidity enables significant chain unfolding during deformation, which directly influences the lifetime of hydrogen bonds.</p>","PeriodicalId":103,"journal":{"name":"Soft Matter","volume":" 29","pages":" 5980-5989"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-07-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144564187","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":"(Sub-)microscale patterning <i>via</i> microcontact printing (μCP): recent advances, applications and future perspectives.","authors":"Martin Reifarth","doi":"10.1039/d5sm00355e","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1039/d5sm00355e","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Microcontact printing (μCP) is a versatile and low-cost technique for surface patterning, allowing for the fabrication of intricate designs with relative ease. However, despite these clear advantages, the application of μCP has predominantly focused on smooth, uniform surfaces, while rough, capillary-active, or hydrogel surfaces have largely been neglected in existing literature. This article aims to review the latest advances in μCP, tracing the evolution of patterning techniques and highlighting recent applications across various fields. Our discussion will encompass both fundamental developments in technology and practical implementations that illustrate its potential. In the last section, we will address the question why non-smooth surfaces have gathered less interest and aim to propose strategies for overcoming the inherent challenges they pose. With this contribution, we will also provide a perspective by shifting our focus to the specific challenges posed by capillary-active surfaces. We will introduce the innovative concept of polymer brush-supported μCP (PolyBrushMiC), which could serve as a promising strategy to address these challenges. By incorporating polymer brushes, we can enhance the compatibility of μCP with rough surfaces, enabling more effective pattern transfer and improved stability of printed features.</p>","PeriodicalId":103,"journal":{"name":"Soft Matter","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-07-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144564186","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}