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Liquid Crystal- Protein Composite

In the last two decades, Liquid crystals (LCs) have shown a potential in preparing a multifunctional hybrid material in combination with secondary components such as colloids, polymers, nanoparticles etc. Temperature tunable optical activity and optical responsiveness to applied electric/magnetic field makes LCs a prominent component for the hybrid materials. However, preparation of LC-protein based hybrid material is becoming a less-explored area due to polarity mismatch between oily LC and biomolecules components. In this direction, research in our group focuses on the design and development of novel methods for the preparation of new classes of hybrid material by integrating proteins with nematic liquid crystals microemulsion. We follow bioconjugation techniques to modify the protein surface with amphiphilic surfactant molecules to address the non-miscibility between the LCs and proteins. Protein-Polymer bioconjugates show spontaneous sequestration into LC droplets while retaining its structural and functional activity. Further our aim is to explore application of a novel LC-protein soft hybrid materials in the field of biosensing.

Publications Related to Liquid Crystal- Protein Composite

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Many More to Come..

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