Liquid crystal engineering – new complex mesophase structures and their relations to polymer morphologies, nanoscale patterning and crystal engineering

Tschierske, Carsten

doi:10.1039/b615517k

Cited by 454 publications

(408 citation statements)

References 200 publications

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“…We demonstrate that biological TLCs can be made from a remarkable range of biomolecules and bio-inspired molecules, including nucleic acids, polypeptides, fusion proteins, and viruses. TLC materials typically combine rigid or semirigid anisometric units, which introduce orientational anisotropy, with flexible alkyl chains, which suppress crystallization (24). In the present experiments, negatively charged biomolecules and bio-inspired molecules act as rigid parts, and cationic surfactants make up the flexible units to produce TLC phases with remarkably low LC-isotropic clearing temperatures, which is another TLC signature.…”

mentioning

confidence: 86%

Thermotropic liquid crystals from biomacromolecules

Li¹,

Chen

Marcozzi³

et al. 2014

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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Complexation of biomacromolecules (e.g., nucleic acids, proteins, or viruses) with surfactants containing flexible alkyl tails, followed by dehydration, is shown to be a simple generic method for the production of thermotropic liquid crystals. The anhydrous smectic phases that result exhibit biomacromolecular sublayers intercalated between aliphatic hydrocarbon sublayers at or near room temperature. Both this and low transition temperatures to other phases enable the study and application of thermotropic liquid crystal phase behavior without thermal degradation of the biomolecular components.L iquid crystals (LCs) play an important role in biology because their essential characteristic, the combination of order and mobility, is a basic requirement for self-organization and structure formation in living systems (1-3). Thus, it is not surprising that the study of LCs emerged as a scientific discipline in part from biology and from the study of myelin figures, lipids, and cell membranes (4). These and the LC phases formed from many other biomolecules, including nucleic acids (5, 6), proteins (7,8), and viruses (9, 10), are classified as lyotropic, the general term applied to LC structures formed in water and stabilized by the distinctly biological theme of amphiphilic partitioning of hydrophilic and hydrophobic molecular components into separate domains. However, the principal thrust and achievement of the study of LCs has been in the science and application of thermotropic materials, structures, and phases in which molecules that are only weakly amphiphilic exhibit LC ordering by virtue of their steric molecular shape, flexibility, and/or weak intermolecular interactions [e.g., van der Waals and dipolar forces (11)]. These characteristics enable thermotropic LCs (TLCs) to adopt a wide variety of exotic phases and to exhibit dramatic and useful responses to external forces, including, for example, the electro-optic effects that have led to LC displays and the portable computing revolution. This general distinction between lyotropic LCs and TLCs suggests there may be interesting possibilities in the development of biomolecular or bioinspired LC systems in which the importance of amphiphilicity is reduced and the LC phases obtained are more thermotropic in nature. Such biological TLC materials are very appealing for several reasons. Most biomacromolecules were extensively characterized in aqueous environments, but in TLC phases, their solvent-free properties and functions could be investigated in a state in which no or only traces of water are present. Water exhibits a high dielectric constant and has the ability to form hydrogen bonds, greatly influencing the structure and functions of biomacromolecules or compromising electronic properties such as charge transport (12-15). Indeed, anhydrous TLC systems containing glycolipids (16-19), ferritin (20), and polylysine have been reported (21-23). However, a general approach to fabricating TLCs based on nucleic acids, polypeptides, proteins, and protein assemblies of larg...

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mentioning

confidence: 86%

Thermotropic liquid crystals from biomacromolecules

Li¹,

Chen

Marcozzi³

et al. 2014

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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“…Not only the Meier-Saupe type interactions (reduction of excluded volume) and attractive -, respectively C-H--interactions between the rod-like units 32,[41][42][43] , but also the strong segregation of these rigid units from the flexible alkyl chains (rigid-flexible incompatibility) [22][23] should contribute to this effect. Simultaneously, as two sides of the molecule are shielded by the lateral alkyl chains, the possible modes of packing are restricted, mainly leaving the option of a linear side-by-side stacking in ribbons (strings).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Temperature-Dependent In-Plane Structure Formation of an X-Shaped Bolapolyphile within Lipid Bilayers

et al. 2015

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The polyphilic compound B12 is an X-shaped molecule with stiff aromatic core, flexible aliphatic side chains and hydrophilic end groups. Forming a thermotropic triangular honeycomb phase in the bulk between 177 °C and 182 °C, but no lyotropic phases, it is designed to fit into DPPC or DMPC lipid bilayers, in which it phase separates at room temperature, as observed in giant unilamellar vesicles (GUVs) by fluorescence microscopy.

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“…All these factors create additional sources of ions of organic origin [82]. However, recent advances in the chemical synthesis of novel liquid crystal materials exhibiting improved chemical stability reduced the probability of such events significantly [83][84][85][86]. Liquid crystals can get contaminated with ionic impurities during the process of chemical synthesis.…”

Section: Classical Methods Of Liquid Crystal Purificationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nano-Objects and Ions in Liquid Crystals: Ion Trapping Effect and Related Phenomena

2015

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Abstract:The presence of ions in liquid crystals is one of the grand challenges that hinder the application of liquid crystals in various devices, which include advanced 3-D and flexible displays, tunable lenses, etc. Not only do they compromise the overall performance of liquid crystal devices, ions are also responsible for slow response, image sticking, and image flickering, as well as many other negative effects. Even highly purified liquid crystal materials can get contaminated during the manufacturing process. Moreover, liquid crystals can degrade over time and generate ions. All of these factors raise the bar for their quality control, and increase the manufacturing cost of liquid crystal products. A decade of dedicated research has paved the way to the solution of the issues mentioned above through merging liquid crystals and nanotechnology. Nano-objects (guests) that are embedded in the liquid crystals (hosts) can trap ions, which decreases the ion concentration and electrical conductivity, and improves the electro-optical response of the host. In this paper, we (i) review recently published works reporting the effects of nanoscale dopants on the electrical properties of liquid crystals; and (ii) identify the most promising inorganic and organic nanomaterials suitable to capture ions in liquid crystals.

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Liquid crystal engineering – new complex mesophase structures and their relations to polymer morphologies, nanoscale patterning and crystal engineering

Cited by 454 publications

References 200 publications

Thermotropic liquid crystals from biomacromolecules

Thermotropic liquid crystals from biomacromolecules

Temperature-Dependent In-Plane Structure Formation of an X-Shaped Bolapolyphile within Lipid Bilayers

Nano-Objects and Ions in Liquid Crystals: Ion Trapping Effect and Related Phenomena

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