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Statistical, Nonlinear, and Soft Matter Physics Commons™

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Condensed Matter Physics

Selected Works

Articles 1 - 2 of 2

Full-Text Articles in Statistical, Nonlinear, and Soft Matter Physics

Modeling Out-Of-Plane Actuation In Thin-Film Nematic Polymer Networks: From Chiral Ribbons To Auto-Origami Boxes Via Twist And Topology, Vianney Gimenez-Pinto, Fangfu Ye, Badel Mbanga, Jonathan Selinger, Robin Selinger Mar 2017

Modeling Out-Of-Plane Actuation In Thin-Film Nematic Polymer Networks: From Chiral Ribbons To Auto-Origami Boxes Via Twist And Topology, Vianney Gimenez-Pinto, Fangfu Ye, Badel Mbanga, Jonathan Selinger, Robin Selinger

Jonathan Selinger

Various experimental and theoretical studies demonstrate that complex stimulus-responsive out-of-plane distortions such as twist of different chirality, emergence of cones, simple and anticlastic bending can be engineered and pre-programmed in a liquid crystalline rubbery material given a well-controlled director microstructure. Via 3-d finite element simulation studies, we demonstrate director-encoded chiral shape actuation in thin-film nematic polymer networks under external stimulus. Furthermore, we design two complex director fields with twisted nematic domains and nematic disclinations that encode a pattern of folds for an auto-origami box. This actuator will be flat at a reference nematic state and form four well-controlled bend distortions …

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Sucralose Destabilization Of Protein Structure, Christina M. Othon Mar 2015

Sucralose Destabilization Of Protein Structure, Christina M. Othon

Christina M Othon

Sucralose is a commonly employed artificial sweetener that behaves very differently than its natural disaccharide counterpart, sucrose, in terms of its interaction with biomolecules. The presence of sucralose in solution is found to destabilize the native structure of two model protein systems: the globular protein bovine serum albumin and an enzyme staphylococcal nuclease. The melting temperature of these proteins decreases as a linear function of sucralose concentration. We correlate this destabilization to the increased polarity of the molecule. The strongly polar nature is manifested as a large dielectric friction exerted on the excited-state rotational diffusion of tryptophan using time-resolved fluorescence …

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