Colloidal liquid crystals

FIG. 13 A colloidal liquid crystal. The rod-like particles point to a preferred diree-tion, called the nematic director. The solvent is disordered. 

Confocal fluorescence microscopy has been extensively used in cell biology. Single living cells can indeed be studied by this technique visualization of organelles, distribution of electrical potential, pH imaging, Ca2+ imaging, etc. (Lemasters, 1996). Interesting applications in chemistry have also been reported in the fields of colloids, liquid crystals and polymer blends. 

D. Eden and C. Sunshine, in Dynamic Behavior of Macromolecules, Colloids, Liquid Crystals and Biological Systems by Optical and Electro-Optical Methods (H. Watanabe, ed.), pp. 000-000, Hirokawa, Tokyo (1989). 

H. Watanabe (ed.). Macromolecules, Colloids, Liquid Crystals and Biological Systems, Hirokawa, Tokyo, 1988. 

Although we have limited our discussion to liquid crystals made from small molecules, the field of investigation of systems producing this type of state is very wide. It extends from the lyotropic systems described by G. Porte in Chap. 5 to mineral colloids, liquid crystal polymers, and biologically interesting systems such as DNA, myelin sheaths or cholesterol deposits in the arteries. It is not easy to predict which features will lead to new discoveries or applications, and it is clear that many mysteries remain unsolved. 

Roth M, D Acunzi M, Vollmer D, Auernhammer GK (2010) Viscoelastic rheology of colloid-liquid crystal composites. J Chem Phys 132 124702... 

VoUmer, D., G. Hinze, W.C.K. Poon, J. Cleaver, and M.E. Cates. 2004. The origin of network formation in colloid-liquid crystal composites. J. Phys. Condensed Matter 16 L227-L233. 

Lyophobic colloids Lyotropic liquid crystals Lyotropic mesophases Lyotropic polymers Lyral [31906-04-4]... 

In this section we briefly summarize a few modern applications of simulation techniques for the understanding of crystal growth of more complex materials. In principle, liquid crystals and colloids also belong to this class, but since the relative length of their basic elements in units of their diameter is still of order about unity in contrast to polymers, for example, they can be described rather well by the more conventional models and methods as discussed above. 

Thus the study of surfaces has emerged as an important focus in the chemical sciences, and the relationship between surfaces of small systems and their performance has emerged as a major technological issue. Flow in microfluidic systems—for example, in micromechanical systems with potential problems of stiction (sticking and adhesion) and for chemistry on gene chips—depends on the properties of system surfaces. Complex heterogeneous phases with high surface areas—suspensions of colloids and liquid crystals—have developed substantial... 

Fontell, K., X-ray Diffraetion by Liquid Crystals—Amphiphilie Systems. In Liquid Crystals and Plastic Crystals (G. Gray and P. Winsor, eds.), Vol. 2, Ellis Horwood, Chiehester, 1974. Luzzati, V., Mustaeehi, H., Skoulios, A., and Husson, F., La structure des colloides d associa-tion. I. Les phases liquide-eristalline des systemes amphiphile-eau, Acta Cryst., 13 660-677 (1960). 

Ma ZN, Friberg SE, Neogi P (1988) Observation of Temporary Liquid-Crystals in Water-in-Oil Microemulsion Systems. Colloids Sirnf 33 249-258... 

Colloids hold a considerable potential for applications that are unusual in the classical sense. Most of us are familiar with imaging devices such as the picture tube in a television set. These tubes are bulky and consume large amounts of electrical power. There is, therefore, a large incentive to develop compact imaging devices, known as flat-panel devices, that are easily portable and have lower power requirements. (Displays based on liquid crystal technology fall in this class.)... 

Physical state and its description. The physical state of each substance is indicated, in the text and in column 2 of the table, as gaseous, liquid, crystal, glass, colloidal, or in aqueous or other solution. (See the list of abbreviations on page 14.) All states are for a pressure, or a fugacity, of one atmosphere and a temperature of 18°, unless otherwise indicated. 

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