Dynamic self-assembly of motile bacteria in liquid crystals.

Using liquid crystals to reveal how mechanical anisotropy changes interfacial behaviors of motile bacteria.

Bacteria often inhabit and exhibit distinct dynamical behaviors at interfaces, but the physical mechanisms by which interfaces cue bacteria are still poorly understood. In this work, we use interfaces formed between coexisting isotropic and liquid crystal (LC) phases to provide insight into how mechanical anisotropy and defects in LC ordering influence fundamental bacterial behaviors. Specifica...

Fluctuating hydrodynamics and microrheology of a dilute suspension of swimming bacteria.

A bacterial bath is a model active system consisting of a population of rodlike motile or self-propelled bacteria suspended in a fluid environment. This system can be viewed as an active, nonequilibrium version of a lyotropic liquid crystal or as a generalization of a driven diffusive system. We derive a set of phenomenological equations, which include the effects of internal force generators i...

Towards Reconfigurable Optical Metamaterials: Colloidal Nanoparticle Self-Assembly and Self-Alignment in Liquid Crystals

We explore the nanoscale colloidal self-assembly and self-alignment in liquid crystals. We use model particles with controlled shapes and sizes, including quantum dots and rods and metal nanoparticles in the form of spheres, rods, and polygonal platelets. To study these composites on the scales ranging from nanometers to millimeters and to motivate their use in metamaterial fabrication, we util...

Self assembly and self-organization of supermolecular liquid crystals in the context of anisotropic building blocks

Supramolecular Liquid Crystals. Self-Assembly of a Trimeric Supramolecular Disk and Its Self-Organization into a Columnar Discotic Mesophase

6,7-Bis(alkyloxy)-2,3-dihydrophthalazine-1,4-diones self-assemble into lactim-lactam trimeric disks in solution as demonstrated by SEC and NMR. With suitable substituents, as in Phthal8, Phthal12, and Phthal16, these disks self-organize into a thermotropic, columnar, discotic phase. The disubstituted phthalhydrazide unit thus represents a general motif for the recognition-induced generation of ...