Control of Director Fields in Phospholipid-Coated Liquid Crystal Droplets.

Paterson, Daniel A; Bao, Peng; Abou-Saleh, Radwa H; Peyman, Sally A; Jones, J Cliff; Sandoe, Jonathan A T; Evans, Stephen D; Gleeson, Helen F; Bushby, Richard J

Paterson, Daniel A; Bao, Peng; Abou-Saleh, Radwa H; Peyman, Sally A; Jones, J Cliff; Sandoe, Jonathan A T; Evans, Stephen D; Gleeson, Helen F; Bushby, Richard J.

Afiliación

Paterson DA; School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, U.K.
Bao P; School of Chemistry, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, U.K.
Abou-Saleh RH; School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, U.K.
Peyman SA; School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, U.K.
Jones JC; Biophysics Group, Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, Mansoura University, Mansoura, Egypt.
Sandoe JAT; School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, U.K.
Evans SD; School of Medicine, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, U.K.
Gleeson HF; School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, U.K.
Bushby RJ; Leeds Institute of Medical Research, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, U.K.

Langmuir ; 36(23): 6436-6446, 2020 06 16.

Article en En | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-32392071

RESUMEN

In liquid crystal (LC) droplets, small changes in surface anchoring energy can produce large changes in the director field which result in readily detectable optical effects. This makes them attractive for use as biosensors. Coating LC droplets with a phospholipid monolayer provides a bridge between the hydrophobic world of LCs and the water-based world of biology and makes it possible to incorporate naturally occurring biosensor systems. However, phospholipids promote strong perpendicular (homeotropic) anchoring that can inhibit switching of the director field. We show that the tendency for phospholipid layers to promote perpendicular anchoring can be suppressed by using synthetic phospholipids in which the acyl chains are terminated with bulky tert-butyl or ferrocenyl groups; the larger these end-group(s), the less likely the system is to be perpendicular/radial. Additionally, the droplet director field is found to be dependent on the nature of the LC, particularly its intrinsic surface properties, but not (apparently) on the sign of the dielectric anisotropy, the proximity to the melting/isotropic phase transition, the surface tension (in air), or the values of the Frank elastic constants.

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Texto completo: 1 Colección: 01-internacional Base de datos: MEDLINE Idioma: En Revista: Langmuir Asunto de la revista: QUIMICA Año: 2020 Tipo del documento: Article Pais de publicación: Estados Unidos

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