Work

Entropy-Driven Formation of a Chiral Liquid-Crystalline Phase of Helical Filaments

Year: 2006

Type: article

Abstract: We study the liquid-crystalline phase behavior of a concentrated suspension of helical flagella isolated from Salmonella typhimurium. Flagella are prepared with different polymorphic states, some of which have a pronounced helical character while others assume a rodlike shape. We show that the static phase behavior and dynamics of chiral helices are very different when compared to simpler achiral hard rods. With increasing concentration, helical flagella undergo an entropy-driven first order phase transition to a liquid-crystalline state having a novel chiral symmetry.

Source: Physical Review Letters

DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.96.018305

Authors: Edward Barry, Zach Hensel, Zvonimir Dogic, Michael Shribak, Rudolf Oldenbourg

Institutions: Harvard University, Rowland Institute at Harvard, Marine Biological Laboratory

Language: English

Topic: Liquid Crystal Research Advancements

Subfield: Electronic, Optical and Magnetic Materials

Field: Materials Science

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: bronze

Funders: National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering

Awards: Advanced Optical Methods in Cell Biology, G2085425744