Spatio-temporal programming of lyotropic phase transition in nanoporous microfluidic confinements

Ulaganathan, V.; Sengupta, Anupam

doi:10.1016/j.jcis.2023.06.010

Cited by 7 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 61 publications

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“…Curvilinear microfluidic experiments with lyotropic chromonic phases could offer tangible avenues to offset the temperature sensitivity of thermotropic phases, specifically by tuning the concentration of the lyotropic chromonic surfactants. 63,64 Owing to the role of chromonic phases in diverse applications, studies on their flow through curvilinear geometries could be relevant for manipulation of different drugs, dye molecules and nucleic acids.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Curvature-mediated programming of liquid crystal microflows

Fedorowicz,

Prosser,

Sengupta

2023

Soft Matter

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Curvature-mediated programming of liquid crystal microflows

Fedorowicz,

Prosser,

Sengupta

2023

Soft Matter

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“…Additionally, it has been shown that concentration-dependent phase transitions leading to the LC ordering of surfactants or fd virus solutions can be achieved by controlled water evaporation in microchannels [64] or in larger volumes [65], respectively. It has been also shown that in PDMS chips, the microchannels' surface wettability, geometry, topography, anchoring, and other features can spatiotemporally tune phase transitions of solutions of the lyotropic chromonic dye disodium cromoglycate (DSCG) [66,67].…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Microfluidics-Based Drying–Wetting Cycles to Investigate Phase Transitions of Small Molecules Solutions

Verma,

Mateo,

Quintero Botero

et al. 2024

Life

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Drying–wetting cycles play a crucial role in the investigation of the origin of life as processes that both concentrate and induce the supramolecular assembly and polymerization of biomolecular building blocks, such as nucleotides and amino acids. Here, we test different microfluidic devices to study the dehydration–hydration cycles of the aqueous solutions of small molecules, and to observe, by optical microscopy, the insurgence of phase transitions driven by self-assembly, exploiting water pervaporation through polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS). As a testbed, we investigate solutions of the chromonic dye Sunset Yellow (SSY), which self-assembles into face-to-face columnar aggregates and produces nematic and columnar liquid crystal (LC) phases as a function of concentration. We show that the LC temperature–concentration phase diagram of SSY can be obtained with a fair agreement with previous reports, that droplet hydration–dehydration can be reversibly controlled and automated, and that the simultaneous incubation of samples with different final water contents, corresponding to different phases, can be implemented. These methods can be further extended to study the assembly of diverse prebiotically relevant small molecules and to characterize their phase transitions.

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“…Together with bespoke tracking techniques (Rani and Sengupta ( 2023 ); Meacock and Durham ( 2023 )), microbial growth and development could be studied systematically over long time scales under controlled porous settings. Finally, porous environments, particularly at nano-scales, can enhance local molecular concentrations and nucleate highly ordered material phases of biological significance (Ulaganathan and Sengupta ( 2023 )), for example, through the selective absorption of microbe-generated lyotropic biosurfactants. The self-assembly of lyotropic liquid crystalline phases may, in turn, impact flows through the porous structures by locally altering the geometry, topology, or surface properties (Sengupta ( 2013 )), ultimately generating biophysical feedback loops within the microbe-inhabited porous environments.…”

Section: Summary and Perspectivesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Microbes in porous environments: from active interactions to emergent feedback

Jin,

Sengupta

2024

Biophys Rev

Self Cite

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Microbes thrive in diverse porous environments—from soil and riverbeds to human lungs and cancer tissues—spanning multiple scales and conditions. Short- to long-term fluctuations in local factors induce spatio-temporal heterogeneities, often leading to physiologically stressful settings. How microbes respond and adapt to such biophysical constraints is an active field of research where considerable insight has been gained over the last decades. With a focus on bacteria, here we review recent advances in self-organization and dispersal in inorganic and organic porous settings, highlighting the role of active interactions and feedback that mediates microbial survival and fitness. We discuss open questions and opportunities for using integrative approaches to advance our understanding of the biophysical strategies which microbes employ at various scales to make porous settings habitable.

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Spatio-temporal programming of lyotropic phase transition in nanoporous microfluidic confinements

Cited by 7 publications

References 61 publications

Curvature-mediated programming of liquid crystal microflows

Curvature-mediated programming of liquid crystal microflows

Microfluidics-Based Drying–Wetting Cycles to Investigate Phase Transitions of Small Molecules Solutions

Microbes in porous environments: from active interactions to emergent feedback

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