Focus Articles

7th August 2020

Designing Optimal Super-liquid-repellent Surfaces

Scientist from Durham University research into doubly reentrant surfaces designed for optimal water... (Read more)
4th February 2019
Polarized optical microscopy texture of a novel lyotropic liquid crystal phase formed by the self-organization of DNA nanoparticles. Copyright: authors of M. Salamonczyk et al., Nat.Commun. 7, 133358 (2016).

Molecular Engineering of Novel All-DNA Lyotropic Liquid Crystal Phases

Researchers from Forschungszentrum Jülich, Germany, and Sapienza University of Rome, Italy, propose that DNA can be a versatile building block for fabricating all-DNA particles with engineered shape and interaction potentials that could serve... (Read more)
4th February 2019
Negative-staining TEM image of ß–lg aggregates formed at pH 5.8. Reproduced with permission from J. M. Jung et al., Biomacromolecules 9, 2477 (2008). Copyright (2008) American Chemical Society.

Formation and Use of Globular Protein Aggregates

Globular protein aggregates are used to texture aqueous systems either as gelling agents, viscosifiers or stabilizers of emulsions, e.g. in the food and cosmetics industries. Globular proteins are characterized by a rather rigid... (Read more)
5th July 2017
Switchable liquid crystal contact lens with graphene electrodes fabricated by the Leeds team. Copyright: Leeds University

From Novel Soft Materials to Switchable Contact Lenses

The use of liquid crystals is well established in displays used in smart phones and large area TVs. A new effect has been found in bent core liquid crystal compounds that form an... (Read more)