Review
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Vivek P. Chavda, Shilpa Dawre, Anjali Pandya, Lalitkumar K. Vora, Dharti H. Modh, Vidhi Shah, Divyang J. Dave, Vandana Patravale
Summary: The development of novel long-acting parenteral formulations based on lipid-based liquid crystals has been encouraged by the need for long-term treatments of chronic diseases. These liquid crystal systems, formed by amphiphilic molecules, spontaneously form liquid crystal nanoparticles in aqueous tissue environments, creating an in-situ long-acting sustained-release depot for extended treatment efficacy. This manuscript summarizes the different types of liquid crystals, recent formulation advancements, analytical evaluation, and therapeutic application of lyotropic liquid crystals in the field of parenteral sustained release drug delivery.
JOURNAL OF CONTROLLED RELEASE
(2022)
Article
Pharmacology & Pharmacy
Vivek P. Chavda, Sathish Dyawanapelly, Shilpa Dawre, Ines Ferreira-Faria, Rajashri Bezbaruah, Niva Rani Gogoi, Praveen Kolimi, Divyang J. Dave, Ana Claudia Paiva-Santos, Lalitkumar K. Vora
Summary: Liquid crystal-based nanoformulations are efficient in delivering drugs and therapeutics to specific biological sites. Lyotropic liquid crystalline phases (LLCPs) have unique characteristics that make them promising drug delivery systems, offering improved drug loading, stability, and controlled release. Factors such as molecule shape, microsegregation, and chirality play important roles in the formation of these liquid crystalline phases. Additionally, due to their similarity to biological membranes, liquid crystals demonstrate higher bioadhesivity and biocompatibility, making them more effective for targeted drug delivery.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PHARMACEUTICS
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Sonja Dieterich, Friedrich Stemmler, Natalie Preisig, Frank Giesselmann
Summary: The use of non-amphiphilic gelators in lyotropic nematic phases allows for the creation of lyotropic nematic gels with preserved micellar aggregate size and shape. These new gels combine the optical properties of a liquid crystal phase with the mechanical stability of a gel, showing promise for applications in stimuli-responsive actuators and sensors.
ADVANCED MATERIALS
(2021)
Article
Mechanics
Zhaowu Lin, Sheng Chen, Tong Gao
Summary: This study constructs a computational model to investigate the undulatory swimming mechanisms of microswimmers in a solution of rigid, rodlike liquid crystal polymers, revealing non-Newtonian behaviors with both enhanced and retarded swimming motions. By analyzing near-body flow fields and polymeric force distributions, together with asymptotic analysis for an idealized model of Taylor's swimming sheet, the propulsion mechanism is revealed.
JOURNAL OF FLUID MECHANICS
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Ningdong Huang, Weiheng Huang, Zhenlin Luo, Wangsheng Chu, Goran Ungar
Summary: 3D crystalline order with 1 nm resolution is observed in aqueous solutions of supramolecular nanotubes containing 94% water, at concentrations as low as 6 wt%. The nanotubes are formed by supramolecular rings of star-like organic ions, which stack on top of each other to form long hollow tubes with 15 nm outer diameter. The high 3D order is attributed to long-range attraction between like-charged tubes and amplified charge modulation by the extremely high intra-tube correlation length.
CHEMISTRY-A EUROPEAN JOURNAL
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
P. A. N. S. Priyadharshana, Ju-Young Park, Seung-Ho Hong, Jang-Kun Song
Summary: This study reports a facile method to prepare multiresponsive colloidal materials that can be controlled by electric fields and temperature. The materials exhibit a solid gel phase and a liquid sol phase, and are used for designing display devices and temperature maintenance indication.
Article
Biophysics
Annija Stepulane, Kajsa Ahlgren, Adrian Rodriguez-Palomo, Anand Kumar Rajasekharan, Martin Andersson
Summary: In this study, silicone-based lyotropic liquid crystal elastomers with drug-eluting functionality were developed using PDMS and triblock copolymer (DA-F127). Various compositions were explored and evaluated, and three compositions with specific properties of interest were further investigated. The materials demonstrated the ability to encapsulate and release polar and nonpolar substances, with sustained release profiles for up to 6 and 5 days for vancomycin and ibuprofen, respectively. This research presents a lyotropic liquid crystal, silicone-based elastomer with tailorable mechanical properties, water retention capacity, and the ability to host and release active substances.
COLLOIDS AND SURFACES B-BIOINTERFACES
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Peng Bao, Daniel A. Paterson, Sally A. Peyman, J. Cliff Jones, Jonathan A. T. Sandoe, Helen F. Gleeson, Stephen D. Evans, Richard J. Bushby
Summary: This study presents a modified microfluidic method for creating Giant Unilamellar Vesicles (GUVs) containing lyotropic nematic liquid crystals. By combining spontaneous de-wetting and buoyancy, octanol droplets and GUVs can be separated effectively. The simplified device and increased formation rate make it easier to produce larger quantities of GUVs, but the phase behavior of lyotropic liquid crystals is sensitive to concentration.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Guillermo Blanco-Fernandez, Barbara Blanco-Fernandez, Anxo Fernandez-Ferreiro, Francisco J. Otero-Espinar
Summary: Liquid crystals possess unique physicochemical properties that make them applicable in various fields. This article provides an overview of the current landscape of lipidic liquid crystals in biomedical applications, with a focus on drug delivery, tissue engineering, and molecular imaging. The limitations and future prospects of lipidic liquid crystals in these applications are also discussed.
ADVANCES IN COLLOID AND INTERFACE SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Pharmacology & Pharmacy
Kang Wang, Zhi Li, Yiming Huang, YaotianTao, Xiao Liang, Xiaoqin Chu, Ning He, Shuangying Gui, Zhenbao Li
Summary: This study investigates the influence of additives on lyotropic liquid crystal architecture using alkanes and sucrose esters. Through molecular dynamic simulations and experiments, it was shown that additives can control the structure of LLCs by changing their polarity. It was found that the polarity of additives is a key factor in determining the structure of LLCs, with a certain regularity observed in their effects on the liquid crystal structure.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PHARMACEUTICS
(2021)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Younes Saadat, Kyungtae Kim, Reza Foudazi
Summary: In this study, a two-step thermoresponsive ultrafiltration membrane was fabricated using a polymerized liquid crystal material. The membrane exhibited reversible thermoresponsive behavior at specific temperatures, enhancing cleaning efficiency and extending product lifespan.
ACS APPLIED POLYMER MATERIALS
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Varun Chandrasekar, Jian Ren Lu, Ingo Dierking
Summary: Dispersing micro- and nanoparticles in liquid crystals is used to tune liquid crystal properties and transfer order onto dispersed particles. Adding ferrofluid droplets to liquid crystals produces a similar system to LC-microparticle dispersions, with added magnetic functionality. The viscosities of various liquid crystalline systems can be measured by moving the ferrofluid inclusions through different types of liquid crystals and determining the effective viscosities as a function of changing environment or other factors.
JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR LIQUIDS
(2023)
Article
Polymer Science
Jessie Wong, Violeta Toader, Linda Reven
Summary: This study demonstrates that lyotropic liquid crystalline (LC) nanomaterials can be achieved from spherical nanoparticles (NPs) with semi-flexible polymer ligands. The high degree of orientation order of the magnetized materials indicates that the splaying of the ligand shell transforms the spherical NPs into rod-like shapes, which then assemble to produce lyotropic LC phases and linear NP arrays.
MACROMOLECULAR RAPID COMMUNICATIONS
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Jia-Jia Yu, Ling-Feng Chen, Gu-Yuan Li, You-Rong Li, Yingzhou Huang, Maitiniyazi Bake, Zhao Tian
Summary: Lyotropic chromonic liquid crystals have great potential in biology, medicine, and optics due to their biocompatibility, nontoxicity, biodegradability, and birefringence. The rotational viscosity of nematic lyotropic chromonic liquid crystals is positively correlated with the average length of columnar aggregates, increasing with concentration and decreasing exponentially with temperature. A universal empirical expression for rotational viscosity was established with a maximum deviation of 22.60%. The rotational viscosity becomes intensive with increasing magnesium sulfate and sodium chloride concentrations, but reduces with increasing sodium hydroxide concentration. A one-step method using a single sample of nematic LCLCs at different temperatures is proposed for evaluating molecular or colloidal shape anisotropy effects on research targets.
JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR LIQUIDS
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Gu-Yuan Li, Jia-Jia Yu, Dong-Ming Mo, Maitiniyazi Bake, Ling-Feng Chen, You-Rong Li
Summary: The electro-optical properties of liquid crystals are crucial for liquid crystal displays, and the use of lyotropic liquid chromonic crystals has attracted research interest in various fields. The experimental study revealed that the threshold voltage and relaxation time of nematic lyotropic chromonic liquid crystals decrease with increasing temperature or decreasing concentration. The concentration of neutral ionic dopants like sodium chloride and magnesium sulfate shows a positive correlation while alkaline ionic dopants like sodium hydroxide exhibit a negative correlation with the threshold voltage and relaxation time. The changes in electro-optical properties are analyzed based on the molecular self-assembly behaviors of lyotropic chromonic liquid crystals, and it is discovered that the viscoelastic theory applicable to nematic thermotropic liquid crystals can also be applied to nematic lyotropic chromonic liquid crystals for the first time.
JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR LIQUIDS
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Electrical & Electronic
Xiaogang Jiang, Haoling Yang, Xuan Liu, Daru Chen, Sailing He
Summary: A novel chalcogenide As2Se3 fiber with a twin-tube structure is proposed and studied for mid-infrared single-polarization single-mode operation. The fiber exhibits excellent confinement properties and a wide wavelength range, making it suitable for MIR photonics and nonlinear fiber optics.
JOURNAL OF LIGHTWAVE TECHNOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Hao Wu, Xiaoyu Cheng, Songjun Xie, Yan Huang, Raheel Ahmed Janjua, Xinzi Liu, Sailing He
Summary: This study presents a strategy to control the photoluminescence emission of aluminum quantum dots (AlQDs). It is found that surfactants and phosphonic acids (PAs) competitively bind to the surface of AlQDs, and this binding is affected by the space volume of surfactants and charge of head groups. The emission properties of AlQDs mainly originate from the surface-mediated states, and the red-shifting of the emission peak is a result of increased amount of PAs on the surface, possibly related to the surface oxygen presented in both ligands and surfactants. Overall, this study provides a method to control the photoluminescence of AlQDs by changing the surfactants and surface ligands, which has important implications for their applications in photonics, energy and environment, as well as biomedicine.
JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY C
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Jing Chen, Yanxiao Zhao, Xuanjie Luo, Hao Hong, Tongqing Yang, Shen Huang, Chunli Wang, Hongyu Chen, Xin Qian, Mingfeng Feng, Zhengqiang Chen, Yongxin Dong, Zhenchuan Ma, Jia Li, Min Zhu, Sheng Yang He, Savithramma P. P. Dinesh-Kumar, Xiaorong Tao
Summary: Phytohormone signalling pathways play an important role in plant defence against pathogens. This study revealed that a pepper NLR protein Tsw interacts with a viral effector NSs to inhibit phytohormone receptor function, promoting virulence. Moreover, the plant has evolved a counter-virulence strategy by recognizing the interference of phytohormone signalling through a NLR protein with a structure resembling phytohormone receptors.
Correction
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Jing Chen, Yanxiao Zhao, Xuanjie Luo, Hao Hong, Tongqing Yang, Shen Huang, Chunli Wang, Hongyu Chen, Xin Qian, Mingfeng Feng, Zhengqiang Chen, Yongxin Dong, Zhenchuan Ma, Jia Li, Min Zhu, Sheng Yang He, Savithramma P. P. Dinesh-Kumar, Xiaorong Tao
Article
Physics, Multidisciplinary
Hanqing Zhao, Jung-Shen B. Tai, Jin-Sheng Wu, Ivan I. Smalyukh
Summary: We demonstrate the co-self-assembly of twist domain walls and vortices to form localized topological objects called 'mobiusons' in a nonpolar chiral liquid crystal system. These mobiusons exhibit folding-dependent rotational and translational motions, as well as controlled topological cargo-carrying abilities. Our findings may contribute to the development of topology-enabled light-steering designs.
Article
Optics
Giovanni Volpe, Onofrio M. Marago, Halina Rubinsztein-Dunlop, Giuseppe Pesce, Alexander B. Stilgoe, Giorgio Volpe, Georgiy Tkachenko, Viet Giang Truong, Sile Nic Chormaic, Fatemeh Kalantarifard, Parviz Elahi, Mikael Kall, Agnese Callegari, Manuel Marques, Antonio A. R. Neves, Wendel L. Moreira, Adriana Fontes, Carlos L. Cesar, Rosalba Saija, Abir Saidi, Paul Beck, Joerg S. Eismann, Peter Banzer, Thales F. D. Fernandes, Francesco Pedaci, Warwick P. Bowen, Rahul Vaippully, Muruga Lokesh, Basudev Roy, Gregor Thalhammer-Thurner, Monika Ritsch-Marte, Laura Perez Garcia, Alejandro Arzola, Isaac Perez Castillo, Aykut Argun, Till M. Muenker, Bart E. Vos, Timo Betz, Ilaria Cristiani, Paolo Minzioni, Peter J. Reece, Fan Wang, David McGloin, Justus C. Ndukaife, Romain Quidant, Reece P. Roberts, Cyril Laplane, Thomas Volz, Reuven Gordon, Dag Hanstorp, Javier Tello Marmolejo, Graham D. Bruce, Kishan Dholakia, Tongcang Li, Oto Brzobohaty, Stephen H. Simpson, Pavel Zemanek, Felix Ritort, Yael Roichman, Valeriia Bobkova, Raphael Wittkowski, Cornelia Denz, G. V. Pavan Kumar, Antonino Foti, Maria Grazia Donato, Pietro G. Gucciardi, Lucia Gardini, Giulio Bianchi, Anatolii Kashchuk, Marco Capitanio, Lynn Paterson, Philip H. Jones, Kirstine Berg-Sorensen, Younes F. Barooji, Lene B. Oddershede, Pegah Pouladian, Daryl Preece, Caroline Beck Adiels, Anna Chiara De Luca, Alessandro Magazzu, David Bronte Ciriza, Maria Antonia Iati, Grover A. Swartzlander
Summary: Optical tweezers are tools that use light to push, trap, and manipulate objects without physical contact. Since the 1970s, they have evolved into sophisticated instruments and have been widely used in various fields such as life sciences, physics, and engineering. Applications include precise force and torque measurement, micro-rheology of complex fluids, spectroscopy of single micro- and nano-particles, single-cell analysis, and statistical-physics experiments. This roadmap provides insights into the theoretical foundations, designs, and setups of optical forces and tweezers, and offers perspectives for applications in research fields ranging from biophysics to space exploration.
JOURNAL OF PHYSICS-PHOTONICS
(2023)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Yuwei Sun, Zhipeng Hu, Kezhang Shi, Tingbiao Guo, Yuxin Xing, Yi Jin, Sailing He
Summary: Scientists demonstrate a resonant planar chiral dielectric metasurface design for circularly polarized emission (CPE). The design is easy to fabricate, with an extremely high and angle-insensitive far-field circular polarization degree. Experimental results show a 57-fold enhancement in photoluminescence from a thin film of PbS/CdS quantum dots coated on the metasurface, with a far-field degree of circular polarization as high as 0.74.
ADVANCED OPTICAL MATERIALS
(2023)
Article
Energy & Fuels
Eldho Abraham, Vladyslav Cherpak, Bohdan Senyuk, Jan Bart ten Hove, Taewoo Lee, Qingkun Liu, Ivan I. Smalyukh
Summary: Buildings consume approximately 40% of the world's energy in order to maintain comfortable indoor conditions. The least efficient part of a building's envelope in terms of isolating the interior from outdoor temperatures is the windows and skylights. However, researchers have developed highly transparent cellulose aerogels that have better light transmission, lower haze, and lower thermal conductivity than glass. These lightweight materials can be used to improve energy efficiency in insulating glass units, skylights, daylighting, and facade glazing, potentially enhancing the role of glazing in building envelopes.
Article
Optics
Yuting Zou, Zongxing Lin, Sailing He
Summary: This paper proposes a low-cross-talk and thermo-insensitive 1 x 4 coarse wavelength-division multiplexing device on the silicon-on-insulator platform. Compact Mach-Zehnder interferometers (MZIs) and slot waveguides are used to achieve wavelength-insensitive power splitting, while the trade-off between the opposite thermo-optical coefficients of the Si core and SU8 cladding is utilized to overcome the strong thermo-optic effect of silicon.
Article
Engineering, Electrical & Electronic
Jiahan Tian, Tingbiao Guo, Nan He, Ji Du, Qiangsheng Huang, Xiaojian Hong, Chao Fei, Yuan Wang, Tianyi Zhang, Junping Zhang, Sailing He
Summary: Modulating retro-reflector (MRR) free-space optical (FSO) communication technology is crucial for small-sized optical links and holds promise for application in small platforms. In this article, a wide field-of-view (FOV) MRR using an image space telecentric lens is proposed, and a bidirectional FSO communication system is experimentally demonstrated. The experimental results show that the designed MRR has a FOV of up to 110 degrees, achieving low bit error rates for both downstream and upstream signals.
IEEE PHOTONICS JOURNAL
(2023)
Article
Computer Science, Information Systems
Dawei Gong, Lingling Yan, Binbin Gu, Ruili Zhang, Xinli Mao, Sailing He
Summary: The study aims to develop a computer-assisted diagnosis system for distinguishing different types of chronic gastritis. By utilizing a novel network model and image analysis methods, the study achieved breakthroughs in high accuracy and minimal parameter requirements.
Article
Engineering, Electrical & Electronic
Zongxing Lin, Sailing He
Summary: In this article, a high-performance polarization beam splitter (PBS) based on a 220-nm SOI platform is proposed and experimentally demonstrated. The proposed PBS utilizes a sub-wavelength grating-assisted adiabatic directional coupler and a simple filter to achieve high separation and low insertion loss for TE and TM modes.
IEEE PHOTONICS TECHNOLOGY LETTERS
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Electrical & Electronic
He Zhu, Jing Luo, Jiaqi Liao, Sailing He
Summary: In this paper, a hyperspectral transmission microscopic imaging (HTMI) system is developed for precise identification and classification of mixed pathogenic bacteria. The system has high spatial and spectral resolution, and achieves a high classification accuracy of 93.6% using a simple PCA-SVM method.
PROGRESS IN ELECTROMAGNETICS RESEARCH-PIER
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Electrical & Electronic
Haozhe Wang, Dawei Gong, Guokai Cheng, Jiang Jiong, Dun Wu, Xinhua Zhu, Shengnan Wu, Gaoao Ye, Lingling Guo, Sailing He
Summary: This paper proposes a high-temperature anomaly detection method based on SegFormer in the infrared image of power transmission and transformation equipment. By preprocessing and segmenting the infrared images, it can detect temperature anomalies in key parts and has important practical value.
PROGRESS IN ELECTROMAGNETICS RESEARCH M
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Electrical & Electronic
Jing Pan, Yuanqing Yao, Liu Yang, Hui Li, Sailing He
Summary: In this study, an optically transparent and flexible wideband antenna is proposed and experimentally demonstrated. The antenna is based on sub-micron thick micro-metallic meshes, which provide high visible transmittance and low sheet resistance. The antenna shows excellent comprehensive performance with superior transparency, radiation efficiency, and mechanical properties, making it suitable for practical applications and the emerging field of flexible and wearable electronics.
PROGRESS IN ELECTROMAGNETICS RESEARCH-PIER
(2023)
