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1. Self-assembly coupled to liquid-liquid phase separation

   https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1010652  

   Hagan, Michael F.; Mohajerani, Farzaneh (May 2023, PLOS Computational Biology)

   Zhou, Huan-Xiang (Ed.)

   Liquid condensate droplets with distinct compositions of proteins and nucleic acids are widespread in biological cells. While it is known that such droplets, or compartments, can regulate irreversible protein aggregation, their effect on reversible self-assembly remains largely unexplored. In this article, we use kinetic theory and solution thermodynamics to investigate the effect of liquid-liquid phase separation on the reversible self-assembly of structures with well-defined sizes and architectures. We find that, when assembling subunits preferentially partition into liquid compartments, robustness against kinetic traps and maximum achievable assembly rates can be significantly increased. In particular, both the range of solution conditions leading to productive assembly and the corresponding assembly rates can increase by orders of magnitude. We analyze the rate equation predictions using simple scaling estimates to identify effects of liquid-liquid phase separation as a function of relevant control parameters. These results may elucidate self-assembly processes that underlie normal cellular functions or pathogenesis, and suggest strategies for designing efficient bottom-up assembly for nanomaterials applications. 

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2. Deconfined Fermi liquid to Fermi liquid transition and superconducting instability

   https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.110.125122  

   Wu, Xiaofan; Yang, Hui; Zhang, Ya-Hui (September 2024, Physical Review B)
3. Fluorescence Aerosol Flow Tube Spectroscopy to Detect Liquid–Liquid Phase Separation

   https://doi.org/10.1021/acsearthspacechem.1c00061  

   Ohno, Paul E.; Qin, Yiming; Ye, Jianhuai; Wang, Junfeng; Bertram, Allan K.; Martin, Scot T. (May 2021, ACS Earth and Space Chemistry)
4. Finite-element simulation of the liquid-liquid transition to metallic hydrogen

   https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.100.134106  

   Houtput, Matthew; Tempere, Jacques; Silvera, Isaac F. (October 2019, Physical Review B)

   null (Ed.)
5. Enabling Reconfigurable All-Liquid Microcircuits via Laplace Barriers to Control Liquid Metal

   Watson, Alexander M.; Elassy, Kareem; Leary, Thomas; Rahman, M. Arifur; Ohta, Aaron; Shiroma, Wayne; Tabor, Christopher E. (June 2019, IEEE MTT-S International Microwave Symposium digest)

   Liquid metals such as gallium alloys have a unique potential to enable fully reconfigurable RF electronics. One of the major concerns for liquid-metal electronics is their interaction with solid-metal contacts, which results in unwanted changes to electrical performance and delamination of solid-metal contacts due to atomic diffusion of gallium at the liquid/solid interface. In this paper, we present a solution to this problem through way of liquid-metal/liquid-metal RF connections by implementing Laplace barriers, which control fluid flow and position via pressure-sensitive thresholds to facilitate physical movement of the fluids within the channels. We demonstrate RF switching within the channel systems by fabricating, testing, and modeling a reconfigurable RF microstrip transmission line with integrated Laplace barriers which operates between 0.5–5 GHz. This approach opens the potential for future all-liquid reconfigurable RF electronic circuits where physical connections between solid and liquid metals are minimized or possibly eliminated altogether. 

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