Biological Soft Matter

Soft condensed matter physics, which emerged as a distinct branch of physics in the 1990s, studies complex fluids: liquids in which structures with length scale between the molecular and the macroscopic exist. Polymers, liquid crystals, surfactant solutions, and colloids fall into this category. Physicists deal with properties of soft matter system

This book provides an introduction to this exciting and relativelynew subject with chapters covering natural and synthetic polymers,colloids, surfactants and liquid crystals highlighting the many andvaried applications of these materials. Written by an expert in thefield, this book will be an essential reference for people workingin both industry and academia and will aid in understanding of thisincreasingly popular topic. Contains a new chapter on biological soft matter Newly edited and updated chapters including updated coverageof recent aspects of polymer science. Contain problems at the end of each chapter to facilitateunderstanding

Biological Soft Matter Explore a comprehensive, one-stop reference on biological soft matter written and edited by leading voices in the field Biological Soft Matter: Fundamentals, Properties and Applications delivers a unique and indispensable compilation of up-to-date knowledge and material on biological soft matter. The book presents a thorough overview about biological soft matter, beginning with different substance classes, including proteins, nucleic acids, lipids, and polysaccharides. It goes on to describe a variety of superstructures and aggregated and how they are formed by self-assembly processes like protein folding or crystallization. The distinguished editors have included materials with a special emphasis on macromolecular assembly, including how it applies to lipid membranes, and proteins fibrillization. Biological Soft Matter is a crucial resource for anyone working in the field, compiling information about all important substance classes and their respective roles in forming superstructures. The book is ideal for beginners and experts alike and makes the perfect guide for chemists, physicists, and life scientists with an interest in the area. Readers will also benefit from the inclusion of: An introduction to DNA nano-engineering and DNA-driven nanoparticle assembly Explorations of polysaccharides and glycoproteins, engineered biopolymers, and engineered hydrogels Discussions of macromolecular assemblies, including liquid membranes and small molecule inhibitors for amyloid aggregation A treatment of inorganic nanomaterials as promoters and inhibitors of amyloid fibril formation An examination of a wide variety of natural and artificial polymers Perfect for materials scientists, biochemists, polymer chemists, and protein chemists, Biological Soft Matter: Fundamentals, Properties and Applications will also earn a place in the libraries of biophysicists and physical chemists seeking a one-stop reference summarizing the rapidly evolving topic of biological soft matter.

Soft condensed matter physics, which emerged as a distinct branch of physics in the 1990s, studies complex fluids: liquids in which structures with length scale between the molecular and the macroscopic exist. Polymers, liquid crystals, surfactant solutions, and colloids fall into this category. Physicists deal with properties of soft matter systems that are generic and largely independent of chemical details. They are especially fascinated by the way soft matter systems can harness Brownian motion to self-assemble into higher-order structures. Exploring the generic properties of soft matter offers insights into many fundamental questions that cut across a number of disciplines. Although many of these apply to materials and industrial applications, the focus of this volume is on their applications in molecular and cell biology based on the realization that biology is soft matter come alive. The chapters in Soft Condensed Matter Physics in Molecular and Cell Biology originated as lectures in the NATO Advanced Science Institute (ASI) and Scottish Universities Summer Schools in Physics with the same name; they represent the thinking of seventeen experts operating at the cutting edge of their respective fields. The book provides a thorough grounding in the fundamental physics of soft matter and then explores its application with regard to the three important classes of biomacromolecules: proteins, DNA, and lipids, as well as to aspects of the biology of cells. The final section of the book considers experimental techniques, covering single molecule force spectroscopy of proteins, the use of optical tweezers, along with X-ray, neutron, and light scattering from solutions. While this work presents fundamentals that make it a suitable text for graduate students in physics, it also offers valuable insights for established soft condensed matter physicists seeking to contribute to biology, and for biologists wanting to understand what the latest think

Authored by world-leading physicists, this introductory textbook explores the basic principles of polymers, colloids, liquid crystals, wetting, and foams. It is a practical ‘toolbox’ for readers to acquire basic knowledge in the field and facilitate further reading and advanced courses. Undergraduate students in physics, biology, and the medical sciences will learn the basics of soft matter physics, in addition to scaling approaches in the spirit of the Nobel prize laureate in physics in 1991, Pierre-Gilles de Gennes, the inventor of soft matter physics and close collaborator to author Françoise Brochard-Wyart. Features: Accessible and compact approach Contains exercises to enhance understanding All chapters are followed by a short 1-2 page "insert chapter" which serve as illustrations with concrete examples from everyday life (e.g. the Paris Metro, a zebrafish, a gecko, duck feathers etc.)

This book aims to cover a broad range of topics in statistical physics, including statistical mechanics (equilibrium and non-equilibrium), soft matter and fluid physics, for applications to biological phenomena at both cellular and macromolecular levels. It is intended to be a graduate level textbook, but can also be addressed to the interested senior level undergraduate. The book is written also for those involved in research on biological systems or soft matter based on physics, particularly on statistical physics. Typical statistical physics courses cover ideal gases (classical and quantum) and interacting units of simple structures. In contrast, even simple biological fluids are solutions of macromolecules, the structures of which are very complex. The goal of this book to fill this wide gap by providing appropriate content as well as by explaining the theoretical method that typifies good modeling, namely, the method of coarse-grained descriptions that extract the most salient features emerging at mesoscopic scales. The major topics covered in this book include thermodynamics, equilibrium statistical mechanics, soft matter physics of polymers and membranes, non-equilibrium statistical physics covering stochastic processes, transport phenomena and hydrodynamics. Generic methods and theories are described with detailed derivations, followed by applications and examples in biology. The book aims to help the readers build, systematically and coherently through basic principles, their own understanding of nonspecific concepts and theoretical methods, which they may be able to apply to a broader class of biological problems.

Dynamic soft materials that have the ability to expand and contract, change stiffness, self-heal or dissolve in response to environmental changes, are of great interest in applications ranging from biosensing and drug delivery to soft robotics and tissue engineering. This book covers the state-of-the-art and current trends in the very active and exciting field of bioinspired soft matter, its fundamentals and comprehension from the structural-property point of view, as well as materials and cutting-edge technologies that enable their design, fabrication, advanced characterization and underpin their biomedical applications. The book contents are supported by illustrated examples, schemes, and figures, offering a comprehensive and thorough overview of key aspects of soft matter. The book will provide a trusted resource for undergraduate and graduate students and will extensively benefit researchers and professionals working across the fields of chemistry, biochemistry, polymer chemistry, materials science and engineering, nanosciences, nanotechnologies, nanomedicine, biomedical engineering and medical sciences.

Dynamics of Soft Matter: Neutron Applications provides an overview of neutron scattering techniques that measure temporal and spatial correlations simultaneously, at the microscopic and/or mesoscopic scale. These techniques offer answers to new questions arising at the interface of physics, chemistry, and biology. Knowledge of the dynamics at these levels is crucial to understanding the soft matter field, which includes colloids, polymers, membranes, biological macromolecules, foams, emulsions towards biological & biomimetic systems, and phenomena involving wetting, friction, adhesion, or microfluidics. Emphasizing the complementarities of scattering techniques with other spectroscopic ones, this volume also highlights the potential gain in combining techniques such as rheology, NMR, light scattering, dielectric spectroscopy, as well as synchrotron radiation experiments. Key areas covered include polymer science, biological materials, complex fluids and surface science.