Neutron Scattering Explores the Intricacies of Fibre Formation

December 27, 2023
(a) SANS profiles and model fitting as a function of gelation time. (b) Polarized optical micrograph
(a) SANS profiles and model fitting as a function of gelation time. (b) Polarized optical micrograph of liquid crystalline (LC) droplets. (c) SEM image of an LC-Gel showing thin-fibril bundles. (d) a left-handed hyper-helix from a hyperhelical (HH)-Gel. (e) lower magnification view of the same sample where both hyper-helical and tape fibre morphologies can be observed. (f) SEM image of freeze dried HH-Gel. (g) Low magnification SEM image of the tape-fibre (TF) Gel.

Scientific Achievement

This research provides insights into the effects of pathway complexity on material properties and serves as a model for studying emergent phenomena in fibrillar assemblies, such as amyloid formation.

Significance and Impact

This work enhances our understanding of how different conformers and self-assembly pathways impact gelation. The insights gained could lead to innovations in nanotechnology and biotechnology, particularly in the design of new materials with specific properties tailored for unique applications.

Research Details

  • Time-resolved SANS was employed to monitor gelation process; A two-level Unified model was used to fit SANS data to determine the hierarchical structure of the gels.
  • Multiple complementary tools were utilized to reveal gelation mechanisms.

“Pathway Complexity in Fibre Assembly from Liquid Crystals to Hyper-helical Gelmorphs”
Rafael Contreras-Montoya, James Smith, Stephen Boothroyd, Juan Aguilar, Marzieh Mirzamani, Martin Screen, Dmitry Yufit, Mark Robertson, Lilin He, Shuo Qian, Harshita Kumari, and Jonathan Steed 
Chemical Science 14, 11389 (2023). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1039/D3SC03841F