Nakayama Masanari, Kajiyama Satoshi, Kumamoto Akihito, Nishimura Tatsuya, Ikuhara Yuichi, Yamato Masafumi, Kato Takashi
Department of Chemistry and Biotechnology, School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-8656, Japan.
Institute of Engineering Innovation, School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo, 2-11-16 Yayoi, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-8656, Japan.
Nat Commun. 2018 Feb 8;9(1):568. doi: 10.1038/s41467-018-02932-7.
Liquid crystals are mostly formed by self-assembly of organic molecules. In contrast, inorganic materials available as liquid crystals are limited. Here we report the development of liquid-crystalline (LC) hydroxyapatite (HAp), which is an environmentally friendly and biocompatible biomineral. Its alignment behavior, magneto-optical properties, and atomic-scale structures are described. We successfully induce LC properties into aqueous colloidal dispersions of rod-shaped HAp by controlling the morphology of the material using acidic macromolecules. These LC HAp nanorod materials are macroscopically oriented in response to external magnetic fields and mechanical forces. We achieve magnetic modulation of the optical transmission by dynamic control of the LC order. Atomic-scale observations using transmission electron microscopy show the self-organized inorganic/organic hybrid structures of mesogenic nanorods. HAp liquid crystals have potential as bio-friendly functional materials because of their facile preparation, the bio-friendliness of HAp, and the stimuli-responsive properties of these colloidal ordered fluids.
液晶大多由有机分子自组装形成。相比之下，作为液晶可用的无机材料有限。在此，我们报告了液晶（LC）羟基磷灰石（HAp）的开发，它是一种环境友好且生物相容的生物矿物。描述了其取向行为、磁光性质和原子尺度结构。通过使用酸性大分子控制材料的形态，我们成功地将LC性质引入棒状HAp的水性胶体分散体中。这些LC HAp纳米棒材料在外部磁场和机械力的作用下宏观取向。通过动态控制LC有序性，我们实现了光传输的磁调制。使用透射电子显微镜进行的原子尺度观察显示了介晶纳米棒的自组织无机/有机杂化结构。HAp液晶因其制备简便、HAp的生物友好性以及这些胶体有序流体的刺激响应特性而具有作为生物友好功能材料的潜力。
