New paper on Ultra-stable liquid crystal droplets stabilised using sustainable plant-based materials by Shikha Aery in Journal of Materials Chemistry C

A new paper has been published by Shikha Aery (Commonwealth Split-side Visiting PhD Student) on designing ultra-stable liquid crystal droplets using sustainable plant-based materials. Using a combination of cross-polarized microscopy, confocal microscopy, microfluidics and supporting evidences, this paper titled "Ultra-stable liquid crystal droplets coated by sustainable plant-based materials for optical sensing of chemical and biological analytes" published in Journal of Material Chemistry C in collaboration with colleagues in School of Physics and Astronomy in University of Leeds as well as Department of Chemistry in Panjab University, India, Shikha shows that sustainable materials derived from food industrial byproducts can lead to formation of high stable Pickering-like liquid crystal droplets that show optical response to chemical as well as biological analytes. Particularly, the paper shows strong evidence on detection of primary bile acids (sodium salt of cholic acid), an important biomarker for early diagnosis of liver diseases via radial to bipolar configurational transition. Thus, this paper demonstrates that these eco-friendly materials can be used for creating monodisperse, ultra-stable, liquid crystal-based complex colloids that are powerful templates for fabricating next generation, sustainable optical sensors for early diagnosis in clinical settings and other sensing applications. For reading the full text, click here: J. Mater. Chem. C, 2023,11, 5831-5845 https://doi.org/10.1039/D3TC00598D