2006/04/26 by Jorge Viamontes, Patrick W. Oakes, Jay X. Tang · 3 citations
Materials Science · Physics and Astronomy · #Liquid Crystal Research Advancements #Material Dynamics and Properties #Micro and Nano Robotics #physics.bio-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1103/physrevlett.97.118103
4 pages, 3 figures
arxiv created 2006/04/26 · openalex publication_date 2006/09/13 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2016/06/24 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
We report that the properties of the isotropic to nematic liquid crystalline phase transition of F-actin depend critically on the average filament length. For average filament lengths longer than 2 microm, we confirm previous findings that the phase transition is continuous in both alignment and concentration. For average filament lengths shorter than 2 microm, we show for the first time a first order transition with a clear discontinuity in both alignment and concentration. Tactoidal droplets of coexisting isotropic and nematic phases, differing in concentration by approximately 30%, form over the course of hours and appear to settle into near equilibrium metastable states.