title: Stabilization of DNA liquid crystals on doping with gold nanorods.
abstract: We report on the impact of doping with gold nanorods (NRs) on the formation and stability of DNA liquid crystals (LCs). Cetyl trimethylammonium (CTAB)-stabilized gold NRs were synthesized using the wet chemistry method. Different textures of cholesteric and columnar mesophases, as well as phase transitions, were observed using a polarized light microscope. It was found that liquid crystalline phases formed in the samples were qualitatively the same and the phase appearance sequence was preserved in the samples regardless of the doping. We show that depending on the concentration of gold NRs present in the phase, nanoparticle-doped cholesteric and columnar hexagonal phases existed in wider temperature ranges compared to pure DNA LCs. The potential applications of these liquid crystal-nanoparticle hybrid systems may include the fabrication of new optoelectronic devices and sensors.
authors.affiliation: Advanced Materials Engineering and Modelling Group, Wroclaw University of Technology, Wybrzeze Wyspianskiego 27, 50-370 Wroclaw, Poland. katarzyna.matczyszyn@pwr.edu.pl.
authors.forename: Katarzyna
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Brach
authors.affiliation: Advanced Materials Engineering and Modelling Group, Wroclaw University of Technology, Wybrzeze Wyspianskiego 27, 50-370 Wroclaw, Poland. katarzyna.matczyszyn@pwr.edu.pl.
authors.forename: Katarzyna
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Matczyszyn
authors.affiliation: Advanced Materials Engineering and Modelling Group, Wroclaw University of Technology, Wybrzeze Wyspianskiego 27, 50-370 Wroclaw, Poland. katarzyna.matczyszyn@pwr.edu.pl.
authors.forename: Joanna
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Olesiak-Banska
authors.affiliation: Advanced Materials Engineering and Modelling Group, Wroclaw University of Technology, Wybrzeze Wyspianskiego 27, 50-370 Wroclaw, Poland. katarzyna.matczyszyn@pwr.edu.pl.
authors.forename: Marta
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gordel
authors.affiliation: Advanced Materials Engineering and Modelling Group, Wroclaw University of Technology, Wybrzeze Wyspianskiego 27, 50-370 Wroclaw, Poland. katarzyna.matczyszyn@pwr.edu.pl.
authors.forename: Marek
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Samoc
mesh_terms: D004247:DNA / Q000737:chemistry*; D006046:Gold / Q000737:chemistry*; D046529:Microscopy, Electron, Transmission; D043942:Nanotubes / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D006046:Gold; D004247:DNA