Self-assembling, pattern formation

Self-Assembly, Pattern Formation and Growth Phenomena in Nano-Systems, 1-54. 2006 Springer. Printed in the Netherlands. 

A. Buka, N. 6ber, W. Pesch and L. Kramer, Convective patterns in liquid crystals driven by electric field. In eds. A.A. Golovin and A.A. Nepom-nyashchy. Self Assembly, Pattern Formation and Growth Phenomena in Nano-Systems. Springer, Dordrecht, 2006. pp. 55-82. 

Solutions of surfactants are also affected by the amphiphilic character of these unusual solutes. Above a critical concentration, surfactant molecules aggregate together to form nanoscopic droplets known as micelles. This process, micellization, is the first step in a hierarchy of self-assembly patterns which surfactants exhibit. T)rpically, micelles form in solution at concentrations slightly above those where available surfaces have been completely covered by surfactant. Micelle formation is an abrupt occurrence, and this is perhaps best illustrated by surface tension measurements on surfactant solutions. 

Flexibility of pattern formation may well be the consequence of self-assembly mechanisms acting upon digital information such as that... 

Brockman. K. Matson), pp. 51-60. London Weidenfield and Nicholson. Hemsley A. R.. Griffiths, P. C. 2000. Architecture in the microcosm biocolloids, self-assembly and pattern formation. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. Land. A. 358, 547-564. 

The formation of bottom-up block copolymer patterns within or on top-down substrate patterns is the basis for so-called templated self-assembly processes, in which long-range order and orientation of microdomain patterns can be imposed by a template or guide . These top-down templates can take a variety of forms including periodic thickness profiles and chemically patterned surfaces. 

Formation of a complex between DNA and polycationic compounds appears to be the initial and quite possibly a critical parameter for nonviral gene delivery. Several synthetic vector systems, which are generally cationic in nature, including poly(lysines), cationic liposomes or various types of block copolymers and recently dendrimers, have been shown to self-assemble with plasmid DNA [13-15] [16]. Specific physicochemical properties manifested by these DNA complexes depend on the type of cationic agent used however, interesting patterns for such interactions are beginning to evolve [17, 18]. Under certain conditions, the interaction of DNA with polyvalent cations results in... 

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