87 research outputs found
Nanocellulose Fragmentation Mechanisms and Inversion of Chirality from the Single Particle to the Cholesteric Phase
Understanding how nanostructure and nanomechanics influence physical material
properties on the micro- and macroscale is an essential goal in soft condensed
matter research. Mechanisms governing fragmentation and chirality inversion of
filamentous colloids are of specific interest because of their critical role in
load-bearing and self-organizing functionalities of soft nanomaterials. Here we
provide a fundamental insight into the self-organization across several length
scales of nanocellulose, an important bio-colloid system with wide-ranging
applications as structural, insulating and functional material. Through a
combined microscopic and statistical analysis of nanocellulose fibrils at the
single particle level, we show how mechanically and chemically induced
fragmentation proceed in this system. Moreover, by studying the bottom-up
self-assembly of fragmented carboxylated cellulose nanofibrils into cholesteric
liquid crystals, we show via direct microscopic observations, that the
chirality is inverted from right-handed at the nanofibril level to left-handed
at the level of the liquid crystal phase. These results improve our fundamental
understanding of nanocellulose and provide an important rationale for their
application in colloidal systems, liquid crystals and nanomaterials
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Modulating self-assembly of a nanotape-forming peptide amphiphile with an oppositely charged surfactant
A peptide amphiphile (PA) C16-KTTKS, containing a pentapeptide headgroup based on a sequence from procollagen I attached to a hexadecyl lipid chain, self-assembles into extended nanotapes in aqueous solution. The tapes are based on bilayer structures, with a 5.2 nm spacing. Here, we investigate the effect of addition of the oppositely charged anionic surfactant sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) via
AFM, electron microscopic methods, small-angle X-ray scattering and X-ray diffraction among other methods. We show that addition of SDS leads to a transition from tapes to fibrils, via intermediate states that include twisted ribbons. Addition of SDS is also shown to enhance the development of remarkable lateral ââstripesââ on the nanostructures, which have a 4 nm periodicity. This is ascribed to counterion condensation. The transition in the nanostructure leads to changes in macroscopic
properties, in particular a transition from sol to gel is noted on increasing SDS (with a further reentrant
transition to sol on further increase of SDS concentration). Formation of a gel may be useful in
applications of this PA in skincare applications and we show that this can be controlled via development of a network of fine stranded fibrils
Conformation of Circular DNA in 2 Dimensions
The conformation of circular DNA molecules of various lengths adsorbed in a
2D conformation on a mica surface is studied. The results confirm the
conjecture that the critical exponent is topologically invariant and
equal to the SAW value (in the present case ), and that the topology
and dimensionality of the system strongly influences the cross-over between the
rigid regime and the self-avoiding regime at a scale .
Additionally, the bond correlation function scales with the molecular length
as predicted. For molecular lengths , circular DNA behaves
like a stiff molecule with approximately elliptic shape.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figure
Geometric dilution of precision of the GNSS for Mars (GNSS FATIMA)
Positioning on Mars is one of the critical aspects of every planetary mission. Current complex planetary exploration systems (orbital and surface) rely on complex navigation and positioning systems, which make these systems complicated, expensive and their missions dangerous. The project of the global navigation satellite system for Mars (proposed system name â FATIMA) can make this and even future manned missions more safe, less expensive and the whole positioning in real time more reliable. The GNSS can be used by more systems or users simultaneously. In this research paper we focus on possible positioning errors when such a system is used. This research is focused on the GDOP â Geometric Dilution of Precision as one of the main factors influencing the GNSS
Conformation of Ring Polymers in 2D Constrained Environments
The combination of ring closure and spatial constraints has a fundamental effect on the statistics of semiflexible polymers such as DNA. However, studies of the interplay between circularity and constraints are scarce and single-molecule experimental data concerning polymer conformations are missing. By means of atomic force microscopy we probe the conformation of circular DNA molecules in two dimensions and in the concentrated regime (above the overlap concentration c*). Molecules in this regime experience a collapse, and their statistical properties agree very well with those of simulated vesicles under pressure. Some circular molecules also create confining regions in which other molecules are trapped. Thus we show further that spatially confined molecules fold into specific conformations close to those found for linear chains, and strongly dependent on the size of the confining box
Persistence length and scaling properties of single-stranded DNA adsorbed on modiïŹed graphite
We have characterized the polymer physics of single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) using atomic force microscopy. The persistence length l(p) of circular ssDNA adsorbed on a modified graphite surface was determined independently of secondary structure. At a very low ionic strength we obtained l(p)=9.1 nm from the bond correlation function. Increasing the salt concentration lead to a decrease in l(p); at 1 mM NaCl we found l(p)=6.7 nm, while at 10 mM NaCl a value l(p)=4.6 nm was obtained. The persistence length was also extracted from the root-mean-square end-to-end distance and the end-to-end distance distribution function. Finally, we have investigated the scaling behavior using the two latter quantities, and found that on long length scales ssDNA behaves as a two-dimensional self-avoiding walk
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The effect of pH on the self-assembly of a collagen derived peptide amphiphile
Transitions in nanostructure driven by pH are observed for a self-assembling peptide amphiphile (PA) with a cationic pentapeptide headgroup. At pH 3, the PA forms flat tape-like structures, while at pH 4 the PA assembles into twisted right handed structures. These twisted structures transform again to flat tape-like structures at pH 7. In complete contrast, spherical micelles are observed at pH 2. These changes in response to pH may be relevant to biological and pharmaceutical applications of this PA in skincare
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