title: Liquid crystal alignment on a chiral surface: interfacial interaction with sheared DNA films.
abstract: We explore the alignment of various achiral liquid crystals on films of aligned double-stranded helical DNA. In all cases and both for the nematic and smectic A phases, we find a distinctly chiral interfacial structure, with the mean orientation of the liquid crystal in contact with the DNA-treated surfaces chirally rotated through a substantial angle with respect to the mean DNA orientation. This rotation originates in the chirality of double-stranded DNA and depends on the liquid crystal molecular structure. We discuss the role of dipolar and hydrophobic coupling in determining the observed orientation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics and Liquid Crystal Materials Research Center, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309-0390, USA.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nakata
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Zanchetta
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Buscaglia
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Bellini
authors.forename: N A
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Clark
mesh_terms: D016880:Anisotropy; D001671:Biochemistry / Q000379:methods; D001703:Biophysics / Q000379:methods; D003460:Crystallization; D004247:DNA / Q000737:chemistry*; D050866:Liquid Crystals; D008859:Microscopy, Polarization; D015394:Molecular Structure; D009690:Nucleic Acid Conformation; D013050:Spectrometry, Fluorescence / Q000379:methods; D013237:Stereoisomerism; D013499:Surface Properties
chemical_list: D004247:DNA