Article
Physics, Fluids & Plasmas
Jiankai Hu, Luhui Ning, Rui Liu, Mingcheng Yang, Ke Chen
Summary: By using video microscopy, the long-time diffusion coefficients of colloidal particles at different concentrations were measured. It was found that the measured values deviate from theoretical predictions in the supercooled regime. However, the theoretical diffusion relation can be recovered by assigning an effective mass proportional to the size of structurally correlated clusters to the diffusing particles, which provides an indirect method to probe the growth of static correlation length scales approaching the glass transition. This method was validated in quasi-two-dimensional experiments of crystallization of mono-disperse colloids.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Michio Tateno, Taiki Yanagishima, Hajime Tanaka
Summary: The study on colloidal gelation using core-shell fluorescent colloidal particles reveals that the enhancement of local packing and the formation of locally stable rigid structures are the key factors leading to gel formation during phase separation. These findings support a mechanical perspective on dynamic arrest of sticky-sphere systems based on microstructure, replacing conventional explanations based on macroscopic vitrification of colloidal-rich phase.
JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL PHYSICS
(2022)
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Peng Luo, Fan Zhu, Yu-Miao Lv, Zhen Lu, Lai-Quan Shen, Rui Zhao, Yi-Tao Sun, Gavin B. M. Vaughan, Marco di Michiel, Beatrice Ruta, Hai-Yang Bai, Wei-Hua Wang
Summary: By decreasing the rate of physical vapor deposition, ZrCuAl metallic glasses with improved stability and mechanical performances can be formed. The microscopic structural evolution suggests the presence of two dynamical processes during ultrastable metallic glass formation.
ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Shuo Li, Ping Huang, Fei Wang
Summary: This study demonstrates that pronounced beta-relaxation can be achieved in Cu50Zr50 MG, effectively improving the plasticity of CuZr alloys. Simulation results and analysis suggest that higher degree of heterogeneity generated in severely deformed regions is responsible for the unusual pronounced beta-relaxation.
JOURNAL OF ALLOYS AND COMPOUNDS
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Reece Henry, Nrup Balar, Harald Ade
Summary: Characterizing thermodynamic transitions and kinetic processes in optoelectronic materials is crucial for understanding device structural stability and optimized processing conditions. Traditional DSC experiments are limited to bulk-like samples and cannot characterize controlled thin film geometries, while ellipsometry offers a comparable method and provides additional insights into kinetic characteristics and density changes associated with free volume and molecular packing.
CHEMISTRY OF MATERIALS
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Giuseppe Porpora, Francesco Rusciano, Raffaele Pastore, Francesco Greco
Summary: Glass transition is an intriguing open issue in molecular liquids, and recent research has found that the relationship between macroscopic timescales and cage-jump quantities changes on approaching the glass transition.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2022)
Review
Chemistry, Physical
Michael Atzmon, Jong Doo Ju, Tianjiao Lei
Summary: The lack of periodicity and long-range order in metallic glasses presents significant challenges in explaining their properties. By using quasi-static anelastic relaxation, researchers have obtained relaxation-time spectra for several metallic glasses, enabling them to examine the distribution and properties of shear transformation zones in microscopic detail. The results reveal an atomically-quantized hierarchy of shear transformation zones, providing insights into structural relaxation, plasticity, and the mechanisms of alpha and beta relaxation.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Nrup Balar, Jeromy James Rech, Salma Siddika, Runqiao Song, Harry M. Schrickx, Nadeem Sheikh, Long Ye, Anthony Megret Bonilla, Omar Awartani, Harald Ade, Wei You, Brendan T. O'Connor
Summary: This study investigates the thermomechanical behavior of a series of polymers based on benzodithiophene using dynamic mechanical analysis, revealing three prominent relaxation transitions. Side chains play a crucial role in determining T-gamma, with mixing different side chain chemistries resulting in splitting of the gamma-relaxation. Through processing, it is shown that the alpha-relaxation is due to aggregate formation.
ADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS
(2022)
Article
Physics, Multidisciplinary
Manoj Kumar Nandi, Sarika Maitra Bhattacharyya
Summary: The study introduces a new measure of the structure of liquid, softness of mean-field potential, which is sensitive to small changes. It correlates this softness with supercooled liquid dynamics and predicts universal behaviors such as linear proportionality with temperature and inverse proportionality with activation barrier. The research shows a strong dependence of fragility liquid dynamics on softness, while strong liquids have weaker dependence on softness.
PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS
(2021)
Article
Physics, Multidisciplinary
Zhang Bo-Kai
Summary: Colloidal polymers are ideal models to explore fundamental problems in slow dynamics and rheology, showing unique behaviors in supercooled regime. Investigation indicates that bond length plays a critical role in localized length and bulk modulus, affecting the properties of chain-like materials.
ACTA PHYSICA SINICA
(2021)
Article
Materials Science, Ceramics
C. B. Nelson
Summary: Recent studies have shown a positive correlation between Si-O bond lengths and Si-O-Si bond angles in SiO2 structural glass, indicating avoidance of continuous random network formation during solidification. This correlation is attributed to a competition between valence electronic energy and emergent frustration forces. The presence of similar correlations in other glass systems suggests a common mechanism.
JOURNAL OF NON-CRYSTALLINE SOLIDS
(2021)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
M. Mihalik, M. Mihalik Jr., M. Kovalik, M. Fitta, M. Zentkova
Summary: This study investigates the spin dynamics of La0.80Ag0.15MnO3+delta nanoparticles after heat treatment in different atmospheres. The results reveal the existence of two separate relaxation processes with different relaxation times at different temperatures. The nanoparticles exhibit slow magnetic relaxation behavior.
JOURNAL OF MAGNETISM AND MAGNETIC MATERIALS
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Hamed Almohammadi, Sayyed Ahmad Khadem, Massimo Bagnani, Alejandro D. Rey, Raffaele Mezzenga
Summary: This study investigates the shape and structural relaxation of liquid crystalline micro-droplets, called tactoids, using experiments, numerical simulations, and theory. The authors find that the shape relaxation follows a universal single exponential decay, while the structural relaxation exhibits different paths depending on the orientation structures in the ground state.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Ling Li, Carl Goodrich, Haizhao Yang, Katherine R. Phillips, Zian Jia, Hongshun Chen, Lifeng Wang, Jinjin Zhong, Anhua Liu, Jianfeng Lu, Jianwei Shuai, Michael P. Brenner, Frans Spaepen, Joanna Aizenberg
Summary: This study investigates the underlying mechanisms of texture evolution in an evaporation-induced colloidal assembly process. The research shows that at the later stage of self-assembly, the colloidal crystal undergoes a gradual rotation facilitated by geometrically necessary dislocations (GNDs). The generation of GNDs is due to the tensile stress field along the meniscus direction during the constrained shrinkage of the colloidal crystal, leading to crystallographic rotation to accommodate the mechanical stress.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Divya Ganapathi, A. K. Sood, Rajesh Ganapathy
Summary: By analyzing optical microscopy experiments and using machine learning methods, this study investigated the kinetic phenomena and structural characteristics of glass transition. The results indicate that excitations mainly occur in regions with high softness, suggesting a causal relationship between them.
JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL PHYSICS
(2022)
Article
Polymer Science
Rodrigo Rivas-Barbosa, Jose Ruiz-Franco, Mayra A. Lara-Pena, Jacopo Cardellini, Angel Licea-Claverie, Fabrizio Camerin, Emanuela Zaccarelli, Marco Laurati
Summary: This study investigates the internal structure and interactions of composite microgels using small-angle scattering experiments and simulations. The results show that the conformation of PEG chains inside the microgels has a profound effect on the interparticle interactions and the structure of the microgels.
Editorial Material
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Fabrizio Camerin, Emanuela Zaccarelli
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Manola Moretti, Tania Limongi, Claudia Testi, Edoardo Milanetti, Maria Teresa De Angelis, Elvira I. Parrotta, Stefania Scalise, Gianluca Santamaria, Marco Allione, Sergei Lopatin, Bruno Torre, Peng Zhang, Monica Marini, Gerardo Perozziello, Patrizio Candeloro, Candido Fabrizio Pirri, Giancarlo Ruocco, Giovanni Cuda, Enzo Di Fabrizio
Summary: This study combines transmission electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, and surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy to gather structural and chemical information of complex molecular systems, such as ion channels, in their original plasma membrane. It identifies the channels using two different approaches and allows a series of complementary investigations on the same sample.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Elsa Zacco, Owen Kantelberg, Edoardo Milanetti, Alexandros Armaos, Francesco Paolo Panei, Jenna Gregory, Kiani Jeacock, David J. Clarke, Siddharthan Chandran, Giancarlo Ruocco, Stefano Gustincich, Mathew H. Horrocks, Annalisa Pastore, Gian Gaetano Tartaglia
Summary: In this study, aptamers specific for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis protein TDP-43 were successfully designed and used to track TDP-43 phase transition in vitro and in cells.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Xhorxhina Shaulli, Rodrigo Rivas-Barbosa, Maxime J. Bergman, Chi Zhang, Nicoletta Gnan, Frank Scheffold, Emanuela Zaccarelli
Summary: Super-resolution microscopy is used to investigate the internal structure of microgels and their response to temperature changes. The study combines direct stochastic optical reconstruction microscopy and molecular dynamics simulations to analyze the behavior of microgels on hydrophilic and hydrophobic surfaces. The results provide important insights for using this technique in studying more complex systems.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Valerio Sorichetti, Andrea Ninarello, Jose Ruiz-Franco, Virginie Hugouvieux, Emanuela Zaccarelli, Cristian Micheletti, Walter Kob, Lorenzo Rovigatti
Summary: We used simulations to self-assemble polymer networks with a mixture of bivalent and tri- or tetravalent patchy particles, resulting in an exponential strand length distribution similar to experimental cross-linked systems. The fractal structure of the network depends on the assembly number density, but systems with the same mean valence and assembly density have the same structural properties. We also examined the dynamics of long strands using the tube model and found a relation between the localization lengths and shear modulus.
JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL PHYSICS
(2023)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Martina Marcotulli, Maria Celeste Tirelli, Marina Volpi, Jakub Jaroszewicz, Chiara Scognamiglio, Piotr Kasprzycki, Karol Karnowski, Wojciech Swieszkowski, Giancarlo Ruocco, Marco Costantini, Gianluca Cidonio, Andrea Barbetta
Summary: 3D printing systems have evolved greatly in the last decade, becoming a top technology for academic and industrial applications. However, manufacturing polymeric materials with trabecular porosity and functionally graded architecture through additive platforms remains a technical challenge. This study presents a 3D extrusion printing strategy that enables the construction of high-accuracy polymeric foams with varying density and composition.
ADVANCED MATERIALS TECHNOLOGIES
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Fabian Hagemans, Fabrizio Camerin, Nabanita Hazra, Janik Lammertz, Frederic Dux, Giovanni Del Monte, Olli-Ville Laukkanen, Jerome J. Crassous, Emanuela Zaccarelli, Walter Richtering
Summary: Hollow microgels are interesting model systems that can deform, interpenetrate, and shrink under certain conditions. In this study, microgels with a micrometer-sized cavity were characterized using fluorescence microscopy techniques. It was found that these microgels reversibly buckle above a critical osmotic pressure, unlike smaller hollow microgels which deswell at high volume fractions. Simulations confirmed the buckling transition and suggested that a thin shell model theory can describe the behavior of these microgels. The microgels, referred to as microgel capsules, can be used to probe interfacial properties and mimic anisotropic responsive biological systems.
Article
Mechanics
Roberta Angelini, Domenico Larobina, Barbara Ruzicka, Francesco Greco, Raffaele Pastore
Summary: The occurrence of non-equilibrium transitions between arrested states in soft glassy materials, particularly aging colloidal clays, has become a fascinating issue. In this study, rheological tools were used to investigate the occurrence of a glass-glass transition in spontaneously aged clay suspensions. The results demonstrate a pronounced change in rheological parameters around three days of aging, supporting the existence of this transition and highlighting characteristic features of the viscoelastic behavior of aging colloidal clays.
JOURNAL OF RHEOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Medicine, Research & Experimental
Nicholas Skar-Gislinge, Fabrizio Camerin, Anna Stradner, Emanuela Zaccarelli, Peter Schurtenberger
Summary: Monoclonal antibody solutions have the potential to become an important therapeutic tool in the future. However, formulating stable solutions suitable for patient self-administration presents challenges due to viscosity increase at high concentrations. Through the characterization of clusters, we establish a link between microscopic molecular details and the properties of antibody solutions. Our findings provide insights into the self-assembly of monoclonal antibodies, which can guide the formulation of stable and effective solutions.
MOLECULAR PHARMACEUTICS
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Letizia Tavagnacco, Ester Chiessi, Leonardo Severini, Silvia Franco, Elena Buratti, Angela Capocefalo, Francesco Brasili, Adriano Mosca Conte, Mauro Missori, Roberta Angelini, Simona Sennato, Claudia Mazzuca, Emanuela Zaccarelli
Summary: We have developed a new gellan force field that provides insight into the aggregation mechanism of gellan. Our simulations reveal the coil to single-helix transition at low concentrations and the formation of higher-order aggregates at high concentrations, occurring through the sequential process of double helix formation and their assembly into superstructures. We also evaluate the role of monovalent and divalent cations, confirming the dominant role of divalent cations through complementary rheology and atomic force microscopy experiments. These findings have implications for the future use of gellan-based systems in various applications ranging from food science to art restoration.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Jose Ruiz-Franco, Rodrigo Rivas-Barbosa, Mayra A. A. Lara-Pena, Jose R. Villanueva-Valencia, Angel Licea-Claverie, Emanuela Zaccarelli, Marco Laurati
Summary: We investigated the interactions and inter-particle arrangements of concentrated dispersions of PNIPAM-PEGMA microgels during the volume phase transition. The scattering data of moderately concentrated dispersions were accurately modeled using a star polymer form factor and static structure factors calculated from simulations. The presence of charges in the system due to the use of an ionic initiator in the synthesis caused the radius of gyration and blob size of the particles to decrease with increasing effective packing fraction below the VPT temperature.
Article
Biochemical Research Methods
Riccardo Reale, Giovanna Peruzzi, Maryamsadat Ghoreishi, Helena Stabile, Giancarlo Ruocco, Marco Leonetti
Summary: This article introduces a microfluidic scanning flow cytometer (mu SFC) that can achieve accurate angle-resolved scattering measurements within a standard polydimethylsiloxane microfluidic chip. In contrast to conventional flow cytometers and fluorescence activated cell sorters, the mu SFC yields linearly correlated size estimates and quantitative refractive index estimates for particles, making it suitable for characterizing biological samples and potentially applicable in diagnostic settings.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
N. Shashaank, Mahalakshmi Somayaji, Mattia Miotto, Eugene V. Mosharov, Emily A. Makowicz, David A. Knowles, Giancarlo Ruocco, David L. Sulzer
Summary: Dopamine neurotransmission in the striatum plays a crucial role in normal and disease functions. This study utilizes computational models to analyze fast-scan cyclic voltammetry recordings in mice and provides insight into the modulation of dopamine release and reuptake. The findings support previous research and reveal the involvement of synuclein proteins in dopamine neurotransmission.
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Taras Bryk, Noel Jakse, Giancarlo Ruocco, Jean-Francois Wax
Summary: We present a combined theoretical and simulation study on collective excitations in the three-component metallic glass Zr46Cu46Al8. We demonstrate how partial current time correlation functions can be used to represent them via total mass and mass-concentration currents, describing hydrodynamic acoustic and nonhydrodynamic opticlike modes separately in the long-wavelength region. We provide dispersions of acoustic and optic modes over a wide range of wave numbers and analyze the dispersion and damping of three transverse short-wavelength modes, which helps to interpret existing experimental data accurately.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Yiping Yin, Zhe Wang, Hua Zou
Summary: This study presents a novel method for preparing dimpled polymer-silica nanocomposite particles using interfacial swelling-based seeded polymerization. The optimized conditions allow for a relatively high percentage of dimpled particles to be achieved.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Brenden D. Hoehn, Elizabeth A. Kellstedt, Marc A. Hillmyer
Summary: Porous materials with nanometer-scale pores have important applications as nanoporous membranes. In this study, ABA triblock copolymers were used as precursors to produce nanoporous polymeric membranes (NPMs) in thin film form by degrading the end blocks. Polycyclooctene (PCOE) NPMs with tunable pore sizes were successfully prepared using solvent casting technique. Oxygen plasma etching was employed to improve the surface porosity and hydrophilicity of the membranes. This study provides a straightforward method to produce tough NPMs with high porosity and hydrophilic surface properties.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Vladislav S. Petrovskii, Stepan I. Zholudev, Igor I. Potemkin
Summary: This article investigates the behavior of linear and ring polypeptide chains in aqueous solution and explores the properties of the complexes formed by these chains with oppositely charged surfactants. The results demonstrate that the complexes of linear supercharged unfolded polypeptides and the corresponding surfactants exhibit impressive adhesive properties.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Merve Cevik, Serkan Dikici
Summary: Cardiovascular diseases are a leading cause of death globally, and vascular grafts are a promising treatment option. This study focuses on tissue-engineered vascular grafts (TEVGs) using decellularized parsley stems as a potential biomaterial. The decellularized parsley stems showed suitable properties for TEVGs, providing a suitable environment for human endothelial cells to form a pseudo endothelium. This study showcases the potential of using parsley stems for TEVGs.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Gustavo A. Vasquez-Montoya, Tadej Emersic, Noe Atzin, Antonio Tavera-Vazquez, Ali Mozaffari, Rui Zhang, Orlando Guzman, Alexey Snezhko, Paul F. Nealey, Juan J. de Pablo
Summary: The optical properties of liquid crystals are typically controlled by electric fields. In this study, we investigate the effects of microfluidic flows and acoustic fields on the molecular orientation and optical response of nematic liquid crystals. We identify several previously unknown structures and explain them through calculations and simulations. These findings hold promise for the development of new systems combining sound, flow, and confinement.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Xinjun Wu, Xin Guan, Shushu Chen, Jiangpeng Jia, Chongyi Chen, Jiawei Zhang, Chuanzhuang Zhao
Summary: This research presents a novel shape memory hydrogel with a remodelable permanent shape and programmable cold-induced shape recovery behavior. The hydrogel is prepared using specific treatment methods to achieve shape fixation by heating and shape recovery by cooling. Additionally, deformable devices can be obtained by assembling hydrogel blocks with different concentrations.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Rebecca Hengsbach, Gerhard Fink, Ulrich Simon
Summary: This study examines the properties of DNA functionalized pNipmam microgels and pure pNipmam microgels at different concentrations of sodium chloride and in PBS solutions using temperature dependent H-1-NMR measurements. The results show that DNA modification affects the volume phase transition temperature and the addition of salt and PBS further enhances this effect.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Ningyi Li, Junhong Li, Lijingting Qing, Shicheng Ma, Yao Li, Baohui Li
Summary: This paper investigates the self-assembly behavior of colloids with competing interactions under spherical confinement and finds that different ordered structures can be formed under different sized spherical confinements. Moreover, more perforated structures are formed in smaller spheres.
