Themed collection Soft Matter Editorial Board Highlights of 2022

Living systems are generally thought to have emerged from inorganic and organic compounds through the formation of compartments (molecular assemblies such as vesicles) and “information molecules” in processes driven by metabolic reaction networks.

Overview of the recent developments focussing on the connection between cononsolvency and the preferential adsorption of the cosolvent. Discussion about the problems and challenges which are yet to be addressed.

Edible metamaterials with on-demand fracture properties can be used to enhance mouthfeel experience.

Polymer toughness is typically dictated by the entanglement density. Here we demonstrate a new paradigm via polymer-grafted nanocomposites that couples segmental dynamics with the entanglement concept for enhanced toughness at high deformation rates.

The assembly of colloidal particles at liquid interfaces is a versatile procedure to create microstructured monolayers. Our in situ small-angle light scattering of the monolayer provides new insights into the interfacial assembly behavior.

Columns and beams, prepared from only rocks and string, can bear significant loads, enabling the formation of reusable and adaptable structures.

Colloidal gels under moderate stress show an early precursor to yield detectable at macroscopic length scales. This precursor arises from accumulation of local plastic events.

We have developed a magnetic vitrimer-based soft robot that can pass through a confined space, dramatically change its configuration, self-heal without any contact, catch, secure and release a fast-moving object, and move along a planned path.

The observed shapes of faceted toroids of a columnar lyotropic chromonic liquid crystal depend on the concentration of mesogenic material via a balance between bend elasticity and interfacial surface tension.

Soft particles interacting through a hard-core square-shoulder potential, when confined on a spherical surface, self-assemble in a plethora of non-trivial structures.

A microfluidic approach is used to evaluate the effectiveness in facilitating bacteria detachment by shear of an antifouling surface treatment using a zwitterionic silane. The zwitterionic group significantly enhances bacteria detachment under shear.

We study the interactions between NPs and liquid crystal smectic topological defects that can ultimately lead to unique NP orientations.

Four spatial instabilities arising in kinesin/microtubule active gels are determined by two factors: depletion and cross-linker activity.

The pinch-off of droplets of dilute polymer solutions features a transition from a Newtonian to a viscoelastic regime. We study this transition and show that it is characterized by a self-similar evolution of the strain rate.

Evolution of composition, rheology, and morphology during phase separation in complex fluids is highly coupled to rheological and mass transport processes within the emerging phases, and understanding this coupling is critical for materials design of multiphase complex fluids.

We study the interplay between phase separation and hydrodynamic flows in two-phase fluid droplets. We observe long-lived croissant states for intermediate Peclet numbers. For asymmetric surface tensions Marangoni flows break droplet symmetry.

We investigate the defect transitions that occur when a nematic shell is transformed into a droplet. Two different scenarios are observed depending on the initial defect structure of the shell, including an abrupt expulsion of the shell inner droplet.

High density functional polymer nanocomposites (PNCs) with a high degree of dispersion have recently emerged as novel materials for various thermo-mechanical, optical and electrical applications.

Bulk superhydrophobicity/lcephobicity/self-cleaning properties of nanocomposite.

Using a novel noninvasive approach, we measure dynamics and rheology of the genome in live human cells before and after applying mechanical stress. We find that mechanical stress alters both dynamics and material properties of the genome.