Analysis of the internal configurations of droplets of liquid crystal using flow cytometry.

ABSTRACT: We report the use of flow cytometry to identify the internal ordering (director configurations) of micrometer-sized droplets of thermotropic liquid crystals (LCs) dispersed in aqueous solutions of adsorbates (surfactants and phospholipids). We reveal that changes in the configurations of the LC droplets induced by the adsorbates generate distinct changes in light scattering plots (side versus forward scattering). Specifically, when compared to bipolar droplets, radial droplets generate a narrower distribution of side scattering intensities (SSC, large angle light scattering) for a given intensity of forward scattering (FSC, small angle light scattering). This difference is shown to arise from the rotational symmetry of a radial LC droplet which is absent for the bipolar configuration of th

SUBMITTER: Miller DS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4025942 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature