Themed collection Soft Matter 20th Anniversary Collection

Nanopore sequencing technology has revolutionized single-molecule analysis through its unique capability to detect and characterize individual biomolecules with unprecedented precision.

The resistance of the liquid drop-like nucleus to deformation is dependent on whether the nuclear lamina is smooth or wrinkled. When it is smooth and taut, the nuclear shape can be calculated from geometric constraints on volume and surface area.

Interfaces are widespread and essential in living systems, playing crucial roles in biological processes. Understanding the evolution and morphodynamic behavior can provide valuable insights into life formation, development, and disease progression.

Nanoprecipitation is a versatile, low-energy technique for synthesizing nanomaterials through phase separation, enabling precise tuning of nanomaterial properties.

This review clarifies the structure–process–property relationship in PVA-based polarizers.

This review revisits the works of Toyoichi Tanaka on the physics of polymer gels and discusses their scientific significance, covering volume phase transition, structure, dynamics, kinetics and inhomogeneities, followed by some recent topics.

Peptide-mediated liquid–liquid phase separation (LLPS) underpins the formation of dynamic biomolecular condensates, regulated by diverse molecular interactions, and highlights potential applications in drug delivery and synthetic biology.

Chiral analytes can bind to an achiral fluorescent system to generate circularly polarized luminescence (CPL). Subsequently, the CPL signal can be employed to determine the absolute configuration of the chiral substrate.

Ionic supramolecular frameworks made of polyoxometalates and cationic pseudo-rotaxane can form hydrogels with a stable, hierarchical porous structure that remains stable at temperatures above water's boiling point, reducing the evaporation enthalpy.

We perform a dual rheological and NMR systematic characterization of CMC/CB hydrogels emphasizing phase transitions through the variation of both the gel formulation and temperature.

We determine the effective modulus of particle-packing containing hard and soft spheres via nanoindentation and compare the value with those obtained from cracking of drying colloidal films and buckling of drying colloidal drops.

There is an increasing interest in the use of biosurfactants in the development of more biocompatible and biosustainable surfactant-based products.

We determine the dependence of the network yield stress and strain on structural parameters, and identify the effect of plasticity on the non-linear deformation and dissipation.

Highly cross-linked epoxy resins caused horizontal shift factor in large-stress creep to deviate from Williams–Landel–Ferry equation, exhibiting Arrhenius-type behaviour.

Varying the frequency of alternating current (AC) electric fields drives the assembly of different phases comprising Janus microswimmers confined under gravity.

Model systems incorporating dynamic covalent bonds, like star-shaped polymers, are ideal for gaining insights into the role played by the bond exchange in the dynamics.

Effective methods for cleaning surfaces are important for applications including dentistry, healthcare, micro-devices, and the manufacture of electronic components and semiconductors.

Multifunctional azobenzene-based copolymers are designed and synthesized. The azobenzene groups exhibited thermally induced cis-to-trans isomerization, leading to structural reorganization, increased molecular packing, and elevated T_g.

We study a two-dimensional chiral active crystal composed of underdamped chiral active particles, which show the spontaneous generation of angular momentum.

We study how self-organised active flows in confined channels disperse solutes and extend the Taylor–Aris dispersion law to incorporate active nematic flows.

Concentrated type I collagen–chitosan mixed hydrogels were prepared. Unusual branched collagen fibrils were obtained whose microstructure varies with collagen content and gelation method.

Catalytic microswimmers are typically studied close to walls, where they are known to slow down upon addition of salt. By lifting them up, we showed how their speeds change with distance from the wall, with and without salt.

In this work, a series of as-prepared poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) films with varied water wettability was prepared by curing at systematically adjusted temperatures.

Fibrous biopolymer gels under compression lose volume by the flow of water through pores. Fluid flow and network deformation in the gel are non-uniform. A model accounting for buckling of fibers captures the observed deformation and flow patterns.

Many biological microorganisms and artificial microswimmers react to external environmental gradients, like viscosity. Symmetric eukaryotic flagella swim up-gradient, while chirality implies drifting circles perpendicular to the gradient (picture).

Urea has environmental, agricultural and clinical importance being present in many bodily fluids including blood, urine, tears and sweat.

Phytoglycogen-dopamine hybrids are developed as very sticky and biodegradable (towards glucosidase enzymes) underwater adhesive materials.

A monodisperse mixture of active and passive particles can be separated using an elastic meshwork with a mesh size smaller than the particle size.

Green microemulsions based on bio-derived and eco-friendly surfactants enhance cleaning efficacy, aligning with environmental conservation and cultural heritage preservation.

Motional heterogeneity for the grafted chains in the OCNC depends on the confinement strength.

Tailoring the alkyl groups of biparental polyelectrolytes in the Janus evaporator effectively disrupts water hydrogen bonding, achieving a low water evaporation enthalpy of 1434 J g⁻¹ and an evaporation rate of 4.1 kg m⁻² h⁻¹.

Does a knife-like wedge-shaped tips always split a centrally impacting water drop?  Here, we combine experiments and volume of fluid (VOF) simulations to investigate this process. The answer might surprise you—find out in this manuscript.

Increasing the rotational inertia of the active head in the active polymer enhances the knotting and weakens the adsorption of an end-grafted active polymer. Knotted polymers are less adsorbed than unknotted ones.

²H NMR spectroscopy, MD simulations, X-ray diffraction and electrooptic measurements show a very high tilt angle in the orthoconic antiferroelectric phase.

The tangible effects of the interfaces and cross-linking density on the domain size of the polydomain structures of nematic liquid crystal elastomers were explored.

We have investigated the adsorption of α-Synuclein (αSyn) onto small unilamellar vesicles composed of zwitterionic POPC and anionic POPS lipids, as well as the impact αSyn fibril formation has on vesicle stability.

The incorporation of a glassy material into a self-assembled nanoparticle (NP) film can produce highly loaded nanocomposites, with improved photostability under the right conditions.

We demonstrate the generation of diverse material flow regimes in nematic liquid cells as driven by time-variable active surface anchoring, including no-net flow, oscillatory flow, steady flow, and pulsating flow.

Eco-friendly poly(acrylamide-co-sodium acrylate)/polyethyleneglycol hybrid gels reinforced with Bentonite, Kaolin, Mica, Graphene and Silica for enhanced elasticity, swelling and adsorptive properties.

M13 phage are a novel microrheological probe that are sensitive to polymer relaxations, capturing DNA dynamics and revealing universal scaling behaviors across the unentangled and entangled regimes.

Mucus is composed of a complex network of mucin polymers connected by disulfide bonds.

This study focuses on the microscopic processes of crack growth in a composite of knitted fabric and soft matrix in the course direction under both monotonic and cyclic stretching.

The assembly and dynamics of polyelectrolyte complexes (PECs) and polyelectrolyte multilayers (PEMs) are influenced by water content, pH, and salt concentration.

We report a solvent-free assembly method where microspheres align on fluorocarbon patterns without rigid boundaries, creating tunable crystal patterns. Our findings highlight the impact of tribocharging and substrate elasticity on particle ordering.

We adapt a dynamical system approach to the practical matter of estimating relaxation times in both cooled liquids and crystals at elevated temperatures, which we identify as weakly non-integrable dynamical systems.

We leverage in situ enzymatic topological conversion and OpTiDDM to map the deformation dynamics of DNA blends with over 70 fractions of linear, ring and supercoiled molecules that span the phase space of possible topological compositions.

Curvature in a microfluidic channel can be used to induce and enhance the propulsion of magnetically driven microscopic rotors.

Rheo-dielectric studies of soft materials provide important information on the dynamic structure and electric polarization.