Continuous Isotropic-Nematic Transition in Amyloid Fibril Suspensions Driven by Thermophoresis

Isotropic-nematic phase transition in amyloid fibrilization.

We carry out a theoretical study on the isotropic-nematic phase transition and phase separation in amyloid fibril solutions. Borrowing the thermodynamic model employed in the study of cylindrical micelles, we investigate the variations in the fibril length distribution and phase behavior with respect to changes in the protein concentration, fibril's rigidity, and binding energy. We then relate ...

Continuous nematic-isotropic transition in submicron-size liquid-crystal droplets.

Thermophoresis in colloidal suspensions driven by Marangoni forces.

In a hydrodynamic approach to thermophoretic transport in colloidal suspensions, the solute velocity u and the solvent flow v(r) are derived from Stokes' equation, with slip boundary conditions imposed by thermal Marangoni forces. The resulting fluid velocity field v(r) significantly differs from that induced by an externally driven particle. We find, in particular, that thermophoresis due to s...

Isotropic-nematic phase transition in suspensions of filamentous virus and the neutral polymer Dextran.

We present an experimental study of the isotropic-nematic phase transition in an aqueous mixture of charged semiflexible rods ( fd virus) and neutral polymer (Dextran). A complete phase diagram is measured as a function of ionic strength and polymer molecular weight. At high ionic strength we find that adding polymer widens the isotropic-nematic coexistence region with polymers preferentially p...

Isotropic-nematic transition in liquid-crystalline elastomers.

In liquid-crystalline elastomers, the nematic order parameter and the induced strain vary smoothly across the isotropic-nematic transition, without the expected first-order discontinuity. To investigate this smooth variation, we measure the strain as a function of temperature over a range of applied stress, for elastomers cross-linked in the nematic and isotropic phases, and analyze the results...