scholarly journals Reflection spectra and near-field images of a liquid crystalline half-Skyrmion lattice

2018 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 1174 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jun-ichi Fukuda ◽  
Slobodan Žumer
Keyword(s):  
Liquid Crystalline ◽  
Near Field ◽  
Reflection Spectra

A molecular yarn: Near-Field optical studies of self-assembled, flexible fluorescent fibers

1996 ◽  
Vol 54 ◽  
pp. 202-203
Author(s):  
D. A. Higgins ◽  
J. Kerimo ◽  
D. A. Vanden Bout ◽  
P. F. Barbara
Keyword(s):  
Thin Films ◽  
Self Assembly ◽  
Liquid Crystalline ◽  
Near Field ◽  
Spectral Characteristics ◽  
Van Der Waals Interactions ◽  
Cross Linking ◽  
Aqueous Mixtures ◽  
Scanning Optical Microscopy ◽  
Gel Forming Ability

The formation of flexible molecular fibers via the solution-phase self-assembly of the pseudoisocyanine dye (PIC) 1,1’-diethyl-2,2’-cyanine and poly(vinyl sulfate) (PVS) is reported. The physical and electronic properties of these fibers spin coated into thin films on fused-quartz substrates are studied by fluorescence and topographic imaging with near-field scanning optical microscopy (NSOM) and also by atomic force microscopy (AFM). The scanned-probe images demonstrate that fibers with lengths in the hundred micron range, widths of hundreds of nanometers, and thicknesses of a few tens of nanometers, are readily formed in aqueous mixtures of PVS and PIC. Unprecedented flexibility in these fibers is exemplified by the formation of numerous curved and looped structures in the spin-coated thin films. A sandwich-like composite structure of alternating anionic PVS and cationic PIC layers is proposed as a model for the assembly of the dye and polymer in these fibers. The alternating layers in this model are held tightly together via the cooperative “cross-linking” of the PVS and PIC layers by electrostatic dye/polymer interactions, and by hydrophobic van der Waals interactions between the PIC molecules. The intermolecular interactions in the PIC layer result in the formation of a liquid-crystalline-like, well-ordered layer of the PIC, which exhibits the spectral characteristics of J-aggregates. The proposed layered structure apparently possess “reactive” surfaces which link individual fibers into a yam-like assembly. This cross-linking effect is supported by the presence of continuous circular fibers and by the gel-forming ability of the solutions from which these fibers are grown.

scholarly journals Bacteriophage nanofiber fabrication using near field electrospinning

RSC Advances ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (67) ◽  
pp. 39111-39118
Author(s):  
Ryota Sugimoto ◽  
Ju Hun Lee ◽  
Ju-Hyuck Lee ◽  
Hyo-Eon Jin ◽  
So Young Yoo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Liquid Crystalline ◽  
Near Field ◽  
Electrospinning Process ◽  
Crystalline Suspension

Using liquid crystalline suspension of the phage, we successfully fabricated nano- and microscale pure phage fibers. Through a near field electrospinning process, we fabricated the desired phage fiber pattern with tunable direction and spacing.

Freeze fracture imaging and computer simulation of liposome structure: Membrane geometry and defects

1983 ◽  
Vol 41 ◽  
pp. 646-647
Author(s):  
Joseph A. Zasadzinski
Keyword(s):  
Liquid Crystalline ◽  
Freeze Fracture ◽  
Continuum Theory ◽  
Closed Surfaces ◽  
Straight Line ◽  
Low Weight ◽  
Concentric Spheres ◽  
Membrane Geometry ◽  
Dupin Cyclides ◽  
Limiting Case

At low weight fractions, many surfactant and biological amphiphiles form dispersions of lamellar liquid crystalline liposomes in water. Amphiphile molecules tend to align themselves in parallel bilayers which are free to bend. Bilayers must form closed surfaces to separate hydrophobic and hydrophilic domains completely. Continuum theory of liquid crystals requires that the constant spacing of bilayer surfaces be maintained except at singularities of no more than line extent. Maxwell demonstrated that only two types of closed surfaces can satisfy this constraint: concentric spheres and Dupin cyclides. Dupin cyclides (Figure 1) are parallel closed surfaces which have a conjugate ellipse (r1) and hyperbola (r2) as singularities in the bilayer spacing. Any straight line drawn from a point on the ellipse to a point on the hyperbola is normal to every surface it intersects (broken lines in Figure 1). A simple example, and limiting case, is a family of concentric tori (Figure 1b).To distinguish between the allowable arrangements, freeze fracture TEM micrographs of representative biological (L-α phosphotidylcholine: L-α PC) and surfactant (sodium heptylnonyl benzenesulfonate: SHBS)liposomes are compared to mathematically derived sections of Dupin cyclides and concentric spheres.

Electron microscopy of crystalline structure in thermotropic random copolymers

1991 ◽  
Vol 49 ◽  
pp. 1054-1055
Author(s):  
Afzana Anwer ◽  
S. Eilidh Bedford ◽  
Richard J. Spontak ◽  
Alan H. Windle
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscopy ◽  
Crystalline Structure ◽  
Liquid Crystalline ◽  
Elevated Temperatures ◽  
Random Copolymers ◽  
Molecular Characteristics ◽  
Scanning Calorimetry ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Identical Monomer ◽  
Periodic Layer

Random copolyesters composed of wholly aromatic monomers such as p-oxybenzoate (B) and 2,6-oxynaphthoate (N) are known to exhibit liquid crystalline characteristics at elevated temperatures and over a broad composition range. Previous studies employing techniques such as X-ray diffractometry (XRD) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) have conclusively proven that these thermotropic copolymers can possess a significant crystalline fraction, depending on molecular characteristics and processing history, despite the fact that the copolymer chains possess random intramolecular sequencing. Consequently, the nature of the crystalline structure that develops when these materials are processed in their mesophases and subsequently annealed has recently received considerable attention. A model that has been consistent with all experimental observations involves the Non-Periodic Layer (NPL) crystallite, which occurs when identical monomer sequences enter into register between adjacent chains. The objective of this work is to employ electron microscopy to identify and characterize these crystallites.

Structure-property relations of liquid crystalline polymers

1987 ◽  
Vol 45 ◽  
pp. 460-463
Author(s):  
Linda C. Sawyer
Keyword(s):  
Solid State ◽  
Liquid Crystalline ◽  
Structural Model ◽  
Crystalline Polymer ◽  
Liquid Crystalline Polymers ◽  
Mechanical Anisotropy ◽  
Structure Property ◽  
Preparation Methods ◽  
Crystalline Polymers ◽  
Extended Chain

Recent liquid crystalline polymer (LCP) research has sought to define structure-property relationships of these complex new materials. The two major types of LCPs, thermotropic and lyotropic LCPs, both exhibit effects of process history on the microstructure frozen into the solid state. The high mechanical anisotropy of the molecules favors formation of complex structures. Microscopy has been used to develop an understanding of these microstructures and to describe them in a fundamental structural model. Preparation methods used include microtomy, etching, fracture and sonication for study by optical and electron microscopy techniques, which have been described for polymers. The model accounts for the macrostructures and microstructures observed in highly oriented fibers and films.Rod-like liquid crystalline polymers produce oriented materials because they have extended chain structures in the solid state. These polymers have found application as high modulus fibers and films with unique properties due to the formation of ordered solutions (lyotropic) or melts (thermotropic) which transform easily into highly oriented, extended chain structures in the solid state.

Near-field scanning optical microscopy

1986 ◽  
Vol 44 ◽  
pp. 642-643
Author(s):  
E. Betzig ◽  
A. Harootunian ◽  
M. Isaacson ◽  
A. Lewis
Keyword(s):  
Near Field ◽  
Optical Microscope ◽  
Visible Radiation ◽  
Field Methods ◽  
Optical Elements ◽  
Optical Region ◽  
Order Of Magnitude ◽  
Nondestructive Imaging ◽  
Scanning Optical Microscopy ◽  
Near Field Scanning

In general, conventional methods of optical imaging are limited in spatial resolution by either the wavelength of the radiation used or by the aberrations of the optical elements. This is true whether one uses a scanning probe or a fixed beam method. The reason for the wavelength limit of resolution is due to the far field methods of producing or detecting the radiation. If one resorts to restricting our probes to the near field optical region, then the possibility exists of obtaining spatial resolutions more than an order of magnitude smaller than the optical wavelength of the radiation used. In this paper, we will describe the principles underlying such "near field" imaging and present some preliminary results from a near field scanning optical microscope (NS0M) that uses visible radiation and is capable of resolutions comparable to an SEM. The advantage of such a technique is the possibility of completely nondestructive imaging in air at spatial resolutions of about 50nm.

Liquid crystalline ordering of paired helical filaments in neurofibrillary tangles of Alzheimer's disease

1986 ◽  
Vol 44 ◽  
pp. 348-349
Author(s):  
D.F. Clapin ◽  
V.J.A. Montpetit
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Neurofibrillary Tangles ◽  
Liquid Crystalline ◽  
Amyloid Fibrils ◽  
Geometric Analysis ◽  
Paired Helical Filaments ◽  
Microscopic Level ◽  
Light Microscopic Level ◽  
Regular Spacing

Alzheimer's disease is characterized by the accumulation of abnormal filamentous proteins. The most important of these are amyloid fibrils and paired helical filaments (PHF). PHF are located intraneuronally forming bundles called neurofibrillary tangles. The designation of these structures as "tangles" is appropriate at the light microscopic level. However, localized domains within individual tangles appear to demonstrate a regular spacing which may indicate a liquid crystalline phase. The purpose of this paper is to present a statistical geometric analysis of PHF packing.

Use of light microscopy in the qualitative and quantitative study of liquid crystalline order

1992 ◽  
Vol 50 (1) ◽  
pp. 264-265
Author(s):  
Christopher Viney
Keyword(s):  
Light Microscopy ◽  
Liquid Crystalline ◽  
Structural Characteristics ◽  
Molecular Order ◽  
Liquid Crystalline Phases ◽  
Convenient Technique ◽  
Liquid Crystalline Materials ◽  
Transparent Windows

Light microscopy is a convenient technique for characterizing molecular order in fluid liquid crystalline materials. Microstructures can usually be observed under the actual conditions that promote the formation of liquid crystalline phases, whether or not a solvent is required, and at temperatures that can range from the boiling point of nitrogen to 600°C. It is relatively easy to produce specimens that are sufficiently thin and flat, simply by confining a droplet between glass cover slides. Specimens do not need to be conducting, and they do not have to be maintained in a vacuum. Drybox or other controlled environmental conditions can be maintained in a sealed chamber equipped with transparent windows; some heating/ freezing stages can be used for this purpose. It is relatively easy to construct a modified stage so that the generation and relaxation of global molecular order can be observed while specimens are being sheared, simulating flow conditions that exist during processing. Also, light only rarely affects the chemical composition or molecular weight distribution of the sample. Because little or no processing is required after collecting the sample, one can be confident that biologically derived materials will reveal many of their in vivo structural characteristics, even though microscopy is performed in vitro.

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