Themed collection Soft Matter Open Access Spotlight

Condensate droplets arise from phase separation into two liquid phases α (white) and β (green). Vesicle membranes exposed to such droplets are divided up into two membrane segments (red and purple), which can form membrane nanotubes.

In this perspective, we discuss the fundamental mechanisms and the length scales responsible for the formation of micro- and nanoplastics (MNPLs), MNPL size, shape, and morphologies, their metrology, and open questions in the field.

Bacterial biofilms that grow under confinement can mechanically interact with their environment to generate various global geometries and forms of cellular patterning.

Microcontact printing (μCP) is a versatile and low-cost technique for surface patterning, allowing for the fabrication of intricate designs with relative ease.

The co-assembly of nanometer- and submicrometer-sized colloidal particles can result in multi-component superstructures with unique properties.

We review the recent theoretical and simulation studies on interactions between curvature-inducing proteins and membranes.

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

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

Ion-conducting polymers (ICPs) are gaining interest in various scientific and technological fields. This review highlights advancements in ICP thin films using chemical vapor deposition (CVD) and addresses challenges of traditional methods.

This review explores network designs that address the trade-off between toughness and elasticity, offering strategies to develop materials with both high fracture resistance and low hysteresis for advanced applications.

This review is about drops of a liquid with high dielectric permittivity that slide over a solid surface with high electrical resistivity.

Optical coherence tomography (OCT) has been introduced through detailed tutorials, accompanied by a code package, as a powerful technique suitable for versatile investigations in fluid mechanics and soft matter physics.

The spreading of a drop in a wedge shows anomalous diffusion scaling, with the diffusion exponent directly linked to the fluid's rheological properties.

In models of Pickering emulsion stabilisation, it is assumed that Young’s equation defines the angle of a solid particle at the oil/water interface. Here, we consider the implications for stability when the particle is displaced by an external force.

A method to extract gel-forming mucins from pig trachea is developed. These airway mucins form viscous gels resembling human airway mucus, making them a useful model for lung disease research.

Connecting active and passive monomers to form partially active polymers can lead to directed transport towards regions of high or low chemical concentration.

Crystals made of active particles that turn either toward or away from each other achieve states with orientational order that depends on the underlying crystalline lattice.

Quincke roller active colloids self-assemble under confinement into rotors. A “magic number” of 61 particles forms a tiny crystallite which rotes and undergoes a series of slipping transitions as activity is increased.

Each lipid type in a model membrane influences membrane properties.

Nanotubes of P3HT exhibit broadly modulable conductive properties in dependence on their thickness. Conductivity values higher for P3HT nanotubes than for the bulk or P3HT nanowires are reported, due to orientation effects.

When cells attached to parallel nanofibers collide, they can form a train, reverse from the collision, or walk past each other. Simulations and linear stability analysis show the outcome depends on cell deformability, positive feedback of polarity, and fiber spacing.

The reversible dissociation–association dynamical process of the ionic bonds offers gels excellent self-healing properties.

Microgel monolayers at the solid–liquid interface are investigated using force spectroscopy with a sharp AFM tip. We show the effect of the lateral compression on the properties and internal structure of our microgels.

This study highlights topology's role in the phase behavior of polymer blends: catenated DNA network (kDNA)-linear DNA (λ-DNA) mixtures phase separates above a critical λ-DNA concentration, unlike circular-linear blends which remain uniformly mixed.

Bis(pyridyl) urea gelators (L2, L1 + L2) self-assemble into anisotropic fibrillar networks; L2 forms dense, entangled gels, while L1 + L2 shows distinct, dynamic morphologies, revealing isomer-specific assembly pathways.

A phase-field algorithm is used to quantitatively describe wetting morphologies.

Using 3D simulations, this study uncovers how distinct gene silencing mechanisms reshape chromatin, modulate gene expression noise, and drive unique transcription factor cluster patterns—revealing hidden dynamics of genome regulation.

Fire ant rafts dynamically self-organize to conserve energy by separating into active and inactive phases, through formation of stationary clusters that can dissolve rapidly under external stimuli, enabling a swift decentralized collective response.

Dense suspensions of Quincke random walkers exhibit turbulent-like flows mimicking those of bacterial suspensions.

Demixing of smectics can exhibit a diverse range of condensate morphologies. Here we demonstrate that solvent swelling of the smectic can reduce layer bending rigidity, giving rise to more structurally-complex morphologies.

Patterns with long- and short-range order in a monolayer of a self-assembling mixture of particles or macromolecules are studied by MD simulations in a generic model inspired by biological and soft matter systems.

Multiple pathways exist for measuring Poisson’s ratio. Not all methods are appropriate for nearly incompressible materials.

To combat the ever growing energy demand of machine learning, we design novel, neuromorphic, iontronic circuits inspired by Shinriki oscillators and based on microfluidic memristors. We show that they form the universal logic NAND gate.

PDMS and parylene C coatings on azobenzene films are compared. Both enable surface relief grating inscription in water, however parylene C offers improved biocompatibility, cell adhesion, and stability, making it ideal for cell culture applications.

Formulation aids and processing strategies to simplify the processing of concentrated surfactant solutions.

The ultra-high-rate, finite viscoelastic properties of soft hydrogels and fluids are rapidly characterized according to the time to first collapse of laser-induced cavities.

The transition from the uniform nematic state to the splay-twist nematic state occurs when the magnitude of the coupling elastic constant, η_r, between the nematic and torsional fields exceeds a critical value, η_c.

We propose a method to access the diffusion coefficient D within a generic confining potential. It is based on comparing the original MSD with those obtained from simulations made within the specific potential, retrieved from the Boltzmann relation.

In this study we show how to guide, resize and reshape aligned domains in liquid crystal flow via designed microchannel geometry.

Microparticles are released into water when plastic bottles undergo photodegradation under sunlight.

We report dissipative rotation of oil-in-water biphasic droplets in optical tweezers. Rotation speed can be controlled by the laser power. Untrapped droplets can also be rotated indirectly.

DDDG extracts membrane proteins together with native lipids into nanodiscs. These native nanodiscs perform comparably to MSP nanodiscs, with each method suiting different structural and functional studies.

Active metallo-dielectric Janus particles cause voltage-dependent nuclear electro-deformation, enabling in situ mechanical assessment via surface coverage, with simulations matching experiments using a fitted surface tension parameter.

Molecular mobility in renewable PEAz-b-PLA block copolymers.

We use machine learning to predict single-cell motility in heterogeneous layers using shape features. Our model distinguishes low- from high-motility cells, with potential for physics-inspired predictions from static images of cell dynamics.

We study noise spectra in sliding friction and show how wear particles and interfacial dynamics control power-law exponents in displacement fluctuations.

This paper shows that the solvent phase separation near the contact line of a swollen solid is governed by the competition between osmosis and capillary action instead of the commonly believed competition between elasticity and capillary action.

A comprehensive understanding of how fluoroalkyl side chains govern CO₂ solubility and diffusivity, ultimately impacting gas permeability, is achieved through complementary ATR-FTIR and QCM analyses.

We uncover how the volume phase transition (VPT) in polymer gels fundamentally differs from the striking hyper-auxetic behavior (HAT) that emerges in the same systems.

Catalytic chemical garden tubes self-propel in H₂O₂ droplets where spatial confinement induces spinning or rotation. Internal bubble growth enlarges the drop and triggers translational jumps upon bursting.

Polymer infiltration into nanoporous gold dynamically tunes the optical response of the nanocomposite. UV-vis spectroscopy and DDA show red-shifting of plasmon resonance as infiltration progresses, enabling in situ tracking of polymer dynamics.

Weakly charged, thermoresponsive microgels are studied in the presence and absence of salt focusing on the phase behavior in dense packings. Temperature-dependent phase diagrams for both states are derived.

The pressure saturation with depth is studied in submerged columns of grains denser and lighter than water. The total force acting on the particles is redirected towards the container walls, resulting in a buoyancy-driven Janssen effect.

Doxorubicin (DOX) was coloaded with magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) into the core of a niosome (NS). On the application of a magnetic field the MNPs produced heat and released the DOX.

An ultra-thin, modular pneumatic system with integrated sensing and transmission enables precise control of folding structures, offering a scalable solution for reconfigurable robots with complex geometries.

Janus lipid vesicles exhibit run-and-tumble dynamics under AC fields, driven by membrane fluidity and lipid phase reconfiguration that transiently disrupts propulsion by altering domain asymmetry.

We computationally study active mixtures with two distinct nonzero activities. We identify three regimes of emergent behaviors (e.g. enhanced avalanche events, microphase separation) and propose the microscopic physical mechanism giving rise to them.

Even poor machine learning predictions are useful as experimental guides. We us ML predictions on >50 000 granular clogging events to identify promising experiments which confirm and explain the important role of potential arch cornerstones.

The molecular dynamics of thin films and the adsorbed layer of poly(2-vinylpyridine) were investigated using broadband dielectric spectroscopy and spectroscopic ellipsometry.

We combine discrete element method simulations, evolutionary algorithms, and experiments to search for granular packings of variable modulus (VM) particles arranged in a triangular lattice with optimal bulk mechanical properties.

The adhesion energy (G_c) divided by the maximum elongation of the PSA layer (a_f), which is defined as the viscous dissipative energy density, and the strain rate has a linear relationship on a logarithmic scale, independent of the tape thickness.

The self-assembly and conformation in aqueous solution and bioactivity of three lipopeptides bearing lysine-rich tripeptide sequences are compared for C₁₆-KFK, C₁₆-KWK, and C₁₆-KYK, where C₁₆ denotes an N-terminal hexadecyl (palmitoyl) chain.

Under shear flow, filamentous tactoids undergo a double symmetry breaking in both shape and internal director field. The direction of the asymmetry switches when the mesoscopic chirality of the colloids is inverted, revealing how mesoscopic structure governs macroscopic behavior.

A novel family of symmetric squaramide-based LMWGs has been successfully used for the removal of organic dyes from water matrices.

We present a theoretical model of polyelectrolyte-grafted colloidal actuators, which can expand and contract in response to pH variations.

Optimal resetting protocols for active agents are determined by the intricate interplay of resetting, rotational Brownian noise, and active motion.

In a confined two-dimensional geometry shaken vertically, spinning rings immersed in spherical beads exhibit long-range, depletion-like entropic interactions—forming dimers at high bead concentration and repelling at low concentration.

We show that micellar solution properties of sodium lauryl ether sulphate surfactants can be described from the average properties of their building blocks. This offers critical insights in understanding and formulating complex surfactant systems.

E. coli swims by rotating a bundle of helical flagella and tumbles when one reverses its sense of rotation. Using hydrodynamic simulations, we show that near surfaces tumbling causes smaller reorientations and favors the in-plane forward direction.

This paper proposed a new theoretical framework to mathematically model defect motion by constructing integral curves defined from the director field of dry active nematic system based on complex analysis.