Soft Matter最新文献

{"title":"Topological transformations of isotropic droplets with breakup and formation of topological defects in a confined nematic geometry†","authors":"P. V. Dolganov, N. A. Spiridenko and V. K. Dolganov","doi":"10.1039/D5SM00345H","DOIUrl":"10.1039/D5SM00345H","url":null,"abstract":"<p >Confined geometry and surface configuration can induce nontrivial structures and topological transformations between them. Here, we study complex transformations in the two-phase isotropic–nematic region in the confined geometry of a planar optical cell. We investigate the transformation of isotropic droplets induced by the isotropic–nematic transition, and the change of droplet Euler characteristic, accompanied by a change of the number and the total charge of topological defects on the surface of the isotropic droplet. We found that simple and multiple handled toroids with zero and negative Euler characteristics can be formed from sessile isotropic droplets. The complex dynamics of the isotropic–nematic interface were investigated. Rayleigh–Plateau instability with breakup of the toroid and creation of satellite isotropic droplets were found. The observed transformations are discussed on the basis of topology.</p>","PeriodicalId":103,"journal":{"name":"Soft Matter","volume":" 28","pages":" 5720-5727"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-06-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144482630","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":"Low-data machine learning models for predicting thermodynamic properties of solid–solid phase transformations in plastic crystals†","authors":"Tzu-Hsuan Chao, Alexander Foncerrada, Patrick J. Shamberger and Daniel P. Tabor","doi":"10.1039/D5SM00353A","DOIUrl":"10.1039/D5SM00353A","url":null,"abstract":"<p >Plastic crystals, many of which are globular small molecules that exhibit transitions between rotationally ordered and rotationally disordered states, represent an important subclass of colossal barocaloric effect materials. The known set of plastic crystals is notably sparse, which presents a challenge to developing predictive thermodynamic models to describe new molecular structures. To predict the transformation entropy of plastic crystals, we developed a comprehensive database of tetrahedral plastic crystal molecules (neopentane analogs) and used several types of features, including chemical functional groups, molecular symmetry, DFT-calculated vibrational entropy, and energy decomposition analysis to train a machine learning model. To select the most relevant features, we used a correlation matrix to screen out highly correlated features and ran sure independence screening and sparsifying operator (SISSO) regression on the remaining features. The SISSO regression samples over combinatorial spaces, including operations and features, to find the relationship between material properties. Using a dataset of 49 plastic crystals and 37 non-plastic crystals based on a common tetrahedral geometry, we have demonstrated the effectiveness of this strategy. Furthermore, we applied this strategy to develop a regression model to predict transition entropy and enthalpy. The top 100 models from the operation space showed that the overall distribution of performance became narrower, sacrificing the top-performing model but avoiding the worst models. Using this approach, we identified the top-performing descriptors to further clarify the underlying mechanisms of the plastic crystal transformation.</p>","PeriodicalId":103,"journal":{"name":"Soft Matter","volume":" 29","pages":" 5957-5968"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-06-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlepdf/2025/sm/d5sm00353a?page=search","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144551471","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":"Synthesis and characterization of long chain O-acyl-l-alaninols and investigation of drug encapsulation and release by equimolar O-myristoyl-l-alaninol/SDS catanionic liposomes†","authors":"Suman Kumar Choudhury, Ravindar Chinapaka, Konga Manasa and Musti J. Swamy","doi":"10.1039/D5SM00499C","DOIUrl":"10.1039/D5SM00499C","url":null,"abstract":"<p > <small>L</small>-Alaninol and its derivatives display interesting biological and pharmacological properties, suggesting potential use in biomedical applications. Here we present the synthesis and characterization of <em>O</em>-acyl-<small>L</small>-alaninols (OAAOHs) bearing long, saturated acyl chains (<em>n</em> = 14–20). Our study focuses on examining their thermotropic phase behavior, supramolecular organization, and interaction with sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), with the objective of preparing novel catanionic liposomes. Results from differential scanning calorimetry and powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD) studies revealed an odd–even alternation in the transition enthalpies (Δ<em>H</em><small>_t</small>), transition entropies (Δ<em>S</em><small>_t</small>) and <em>d</em>-spacings of OAAOHs. A linear dependence was observed in the values of Δ<em>H</em><small>_t</small> and Δ<em>S</em><small>_t</small> on the acyl chain length, independently for even and odd acyl chains for the dry samples (solid–liquid phase transition), wherein the odd chain length molecules exhibited higher values than the even chain length series. Analysis of crystal structures of <em>O</em>-palmitoyl-<small>L</small>-alaninol and <em>O</em>-heptadecanoyl-<small>L</small>-alaninol showed a tilted bilayer structure organised in a head-to-head (and tail-to-tail) fashion, although the packing arrangement within the bilayer was different for the odd- and even chain length compounds. However, significant similarities were also observed in the intermolecular interactions, with both compounds being stabilized by a number of C–H⋯O and N–H⋯Cl hydrogen bonds. Exploration of the interaction between <em>O</em>-myristoyl-<small>L</small>-alaninol and SDS revealed the formation of an equimolar catanionic complex, which assembles in aqueous dispersion to yield liposomes of 220–260 nm diameter. The vesicles could encapsulate doxorubicin, a widely used anticancer drug, and showed higher release at acidic pH (&lt;7.0), indicating their potential utility as drug carriers in cancer chemotherapy.</p>","PeriodicalId":103,"journal":{"name":"Soft Matter","volume":" 28","pages":" 5728-5742"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-06-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144482629","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":"Evolution of the structure in a soft binary colloidal mixture during thermodynamic processes of cooling and heating.","authors":"Marco A Ramírez-Guízar, Néstor M De Los Santos-López, Gabriel Pérez-Ángel, José M Méndez-Alcaraz, Ramón Castañeda-Priego","doi":"10.1039/d5sm00259a","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1039/d5sm00259a","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The study of the structural evolution of a material under equilibrium or nonequilibrium thermodynamic conditions is fundamental for understanding its stability and predicting its phase behavior. To the best of our knowledge, the structural transformations induced by different temperature protocols have not been fully understood. This study provides a detailed molecular resolution of the structural evolution occurring in a bidisperse colloidal mixture of soft spheres, as it is subjected to a sequence of controlled thermodynamic processes of heating and cooling. The structural transformations are studied between two equilibrium configurations at different temperatures through extensive molecular dynamics simulations. By exploring the interplay of multiple length and time scales, we uncover how these protocols influence the progression of the colloidal suspension toward thermodynamic equilibrium. Our results show that under fast temperature changes, heating and cooling processes follow distinct thermodynamic pathways toward the corresponding equilibrium configuration because of the emergence of different structural mechanisms, which are discussed here in detail; these distinct pathways are defined as thermodynamic asymmetries that depend strongly on the temperature protocol and the composition of the dispersion. In contrast, for sufficiently slow temperature changes, we identify the condition under which both protocols follow symmetric and reversible pathways.</p>","PeriodicalId":103,"journal":{"name":"Soft Matter","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-06-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144473393","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":"Progressive colloidal clogging mechanism by dendritic build-up in porous media†","authors":"Walid Okaybi, Sophie Roman and Cyprien Soulaine","doi":"10.1039/D5SM00285K","DOIUrl":"10.1039/D5SM00285K","url":null,"abstract":"<p >Colloidal transport in porous media governs deposition and clogging mechanisms that critically influence flow behavior and impact the efficiency of both natural and industrial systems. However, the role of dendritic structures, a distinct deposition morphology, in this process remains unclear. Understanding the formation and growth of dendrites is essential for advancing clogging dynamics and assessing their impact on permeability. To address this, we perform microfluidic flow experiments and computational fluid analysis to observe and characterize dendrite formation in a heterogeneous tortuous porous domain. Our results reveal a novel clogging mechanism – dendrite clogging – where a single deposition site initiates a structure that extends across the pore space, bridging grains and causing complete clogging. Unlike previously described aggregation-based clogging, which involves multiple deposition sites, dendrite clogging evolves from a single-site deposition. We establish a flow-dependent criterion for dendrite formation by combining hydrodynamic-adhesive torque balance analysis with experimental deposition patterns. Our findings show that dendrites form when front cone stagnation regions are large enough to accommodate multilayer deposition. Moderate flow rates promote dendrite growth, leading to abrupt permeability loss. In contrast, higher flow rates suppress dendrite formation, resulting in a more gradual decline, as captured by the Verma–Pruess permeability–porosity model. Our results provide a predictive model for flow-induced colloidal deposition, with implications for improving filtration systems, groundwater flow, and biomedical microfluidics. Insights into dendrite-driven clogging could lead to methods for reducing clogging in porous systems and optimizing flow performance in diverse applications.</p>","PeriodicalId":103,"journal":{"name":"Soft Matter","volume":" 28","pages":" 5687-5698"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-06-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144473396","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":"Influence of polymer architecture, ionization, and salt annealing on the stiffness of weak polyelectrolyte multilayers†","authors":"Jordan Brito, Annie Luse, Aliaksei Aliakseyeu and Svetlana A. Sukhishvili","doi":"10.1039/D5SM00298B","DOIUrl":"10.1039/D5SM00298B","url":null,"abstract":"<p >The layer-by-layer deposition of polyelectrolyte multilayers (PEMs) is a versatile and widely used technique of forming nanoscale polymer films with controlled properties. Yet, the influence of polymer architecture and assembly conditions on the mechanical properties of PEM films is not well understood. In this paper, we compare the growth and mechanical properties of all-linear PEM films <em>versus</em> all-star (8-arm) PEM films assembled at varied assembly pH. The properties of these PEM systems, composed of linear and 8-arm weak polyelectrolytes poly(2-aminoethyl methacrylate) (PAMA) and poly(methacrylic acid) (PMAA), are affected by the assembly pH, leading to differences in internal ionization, film growth rates, swelling, and Young's modulus. For films assembled using either linear or star polyelectrolytes in acidic conditions – where PMAA has low ionization – we show slow, linear growth with reduced swelling and similar Young's moduli of the as-deposited PEM films. However, a striking difference in the mechanical behavior of dry PEM films made from linear and star polymers was found for the films showing nonlinear growth (<em>i.e.</em>, assembled at neutral and slightly alkaline conditions). Specifically, while all-star films demonstrated relatively high, thickness-independent Young's moduli, the stiffness of all-linear PEM films strongly decreased with film thickness, reflecting the overall weakening of the network of ionic connections. Finally, we show that the ductility of all-star films was more affected by salt annealing than all-linear films, which agrees with previous reports of faster salt-induced diffusion of polyelectrolytes in PEM films composed of star polymers.</p>","PeriodicalId":103,"journal":{"name":"Soft Matter","volume":" 29","pages":" 5883-5893"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-06-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlepdf/2025/sm/d5sm00298b?page=search","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144525553","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":"A motile rod in an active nematic medium: caging, orientational trapping, and anomalous diffusion†","authors":"Abhishek Sharma and Harsh Soni","doi":"10.1039/D5SM00573F","DOIUrl":"10.1039/D5SM00573F","url":null,"abstract":"<p >We study the dynamical and statistical properties of a motile polar rod embedded in a vibrated granular medium composed of fore-aft symmetric rods using particle-based numerical simulations. Our study reveals phase-dependent memory effects and transport behaviors of the polar rod governed by the structural phase of the medium. In the isotropic phase, the rod behaves as an active Brownian particle, experiencing a noisy environment with increasing medium concentration that leads to short-lived directional memory, resulting in enhanced rotational diffusion and reduced translational diffusivity. In the nematic phase-determined by the medium's concentration and the polar rod's intrinsic rotational noise-the rod exhibits two distinct states: a rotationally trapped state, in which its orientation is locked along the nematic director, and a rotationally free state, in which it explores all orientations despite a tendency to align with the director. At high concentrations, the medium forms periodic layers in which the rods are slightly tilted in opposite directions across adjacent layers relative to the nematic director, as reported by Sharma <em>et al</em>. [<em>Soft Matter</em>, 2024, <strong>20</strong>, 6608–6617]. In this regime, the motile rod is effectively caged in the direction perpendicular to the nematic alignment. We further study the diffusive behavior of the polar rod in both states, demonstrating that the phase of the medium strongly influences its diffusion dynamics and the MSD exponent values, revealing a wide range of behavior from normal to superdiffusive dynamics.</p>","PeriodicalId":103,"journal":{"name":"Soft Matter","volume":" 29","pages":" 5852-5861"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-06-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144504244","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":"Unravelling the self-assembly of a novel cationic pseudo-gemini surfactant and its monomeric counterpart: interactions with DNA and BSA in aqueous medium at neutral pH†","authors":"Homen Dahal, Sachin Soren, Shashi Kumar and Joykrishna Dey","doi":"10.1039/D5SM00075K","DOIUrl":"10.1039/D5SM00075K","url":null,"abstract":"<p >The demand for sustainable, efficient, and easily tunable cationic surfactants is growing rapidly due to their pivotal role in gene therapy, drug delivery, and biotechnology. However, conventional gemini surfactants often require laborious synthesis and lack design flexibility. Here, we introduce a novel pseudo-gemini surfactant system, innovatively constructed through simple non-covalent electrostatic interactions between a hydrophobic tertiary amine and a dibasic acid. This minimalist design approach bypasses traditional synthetic complexity, offering a rapid, modular pathway to functional surfactants. Our findings demonstrate that this new surfactant not only self-assembles into thermodynamically stable structures but also exhibits superior binding affinity to key biomacromolecules like DNA and BSA, as validated by spectroscopy and docking studies. The strong and specific interactions underscore its potential for high-impact applications in biomedicine. This work redefines the design paradigm for cationic surfactants and addresses an urgent need for accessible yet high-performance agents in therapeutic and industrial settings.</p>","PeriodicalId":103,"journal":{"name":"Soft Matter","volume":" 27","pages":" 5515-5528"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-06-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144332110","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":"Co-assembly of amphiphilic triblock copolymers with DNA-polymer targeting ligands in solution†","authors":"Junwei Zhou, Menghan Zou, Xiandeng Qiu and Rong Wang","doi":"10.1039/D5SM00107B","DOIUrl":"10.1039/D5SM00107B","url":null,"abstract":"<p >The development of targeted drug delivery systems is highly valued, which not only improves the therapeutic effect of drugs, but also reduces the amount of drugs used and reduces side effects. By taking advantage of the excellent affinity and specificity of nucleic acid aptamers and co-assembly of targeting ligands with polymers, we used dissipative particle dynamics (DPD) simulations to explore the co-assembly behavior of amphiphilic ABA triblock copolymers and DNA-polymer targeting ligands in dilute solutions. By adjusting interaction parameters and concentrations of various components, we observed the formation of different targeting polymer nanostructures, such as targeting polymeric vesicles, sphere-like micelles, and disk-like micelles. The results show that the inclusion of targeting ligands prolongs the formation time of polymeric vesicles, and by modulating the interactions between DNA beads with hydrophilic beads and solvent beads, the localization of targeting ligands within the vesicles can be precisely controlled. When the interactions between DNA beads with hydrophilic beads <em>a</em><small>_TS</small> is high, the targeting ligands aggregate on the vesicle exterior, while at lower <em>a</em><small>_TS</small> values, they are uniformly distributed inside the vesicles. Additionally, the polymer and targeting ligand concentrations will influence the morphology of the aggregates, transitioning from sphere-like micelles to disk-like micelles and eventually to vesicles, including the mixture of multiple aggregate types under certain conditions. The findings provide theoretical support for the development of multi-targeted polymeric vesicles, advancing the field of precision therapy.</p>","PeriodicalId":103,"journal":{"name":"Soft Matter","volume":" 28","pages":" 5764-5772"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-06-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144482625","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":"Co-assembly of nanometer- and submicrometer-sized colloidal particles into multi-component ordered superstructures†","authors":"Javier Fonseca, Li Jiao, Anna Broto-Ribas, Gurvinder Singh and Angang Dong","doi":"10.1039/D5SM00247H","DOIUrl":"10.1039/D5SM00247H","url":null,"abstract":"<p >Despite advances in computational chemistry and modeling, the discovery of new materials still remains largely empirical, often resembling an art rather than a precise science. A promising approach is to prepare superstructures from building blocks with intrinsic useful properties. Monodisperse nanometer- and submicrometer-sized colloidal particles, in particular, serve as versatile building blocks for this purpose. Their assembly has become a popular “bottom-up” method for creating superstructures. When two or more types of colloidal particles co-assemble, they form multi-component superstructures—often referred to as metamaterials—with diverse ordered arrangements and new properties emerging from synergistic interactions between the different particles. This review aims to systematically explore the co-assembly of two or more types of uniform nanometer- and submicrometer-sized colloidal particles into these multi-component superstructures. We also cover the fundamentals of particle assembly, including the development of uniform particles, maintaining their colloidal stability, and controlling the interparticle forces. Additionally, we discuss the kinetics of particle assembly, summarize the methods used to prepare particle superstructures, address defects that may occur, and provide an overview of their characterization techniques. Finally, we outline the challenges and opportunities in designing multi-component superstructures with ordered arrangements.</p>","PeriodicalId":103,"journal":{"name":"Soft Matter","volume":" 28","pages":" 5583-5654"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-06-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlepdf/2025/sm/d5sm00247h?page=search","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144525551","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}