RSC - Soft Matter latest articles

Effects of hydrostatic pressure on epithelial dome formation and stability

Soft Matter, 2026, Accepted Manuscript
DOI: 10.1039/D6SM00004E, Paper

Jianfeng Meng, Guangsong Xie, Yifei Zheng, Huaixuan Chen, Peng Xia, Pengfei Xu, Yingke Xu, Liangfei Tian, Qi Gao, Youhua Tan, Dechang Li, Baohua Ji
Hydrostatic pressure in living organisms is crucial to the formation and stability of hollow structures in tissues and organs. However, the underlying mechanisms governing the collective cell responses to the...
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Reconstitution of Metabolic Reactions within Self-assembled, Multi-compartment Protein Vesicles

Soft Matter, 2026, Accepted Manuscript
DOI: 10.1039/D6SM00163G, Paper

Open Access

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported Licence.

Jooyong Shin, Webley Woods, Yeongseon Jang
Artificial cells that reproduce the spatial organization of metabolism offer a powerful platform for understanding and controlling complex biochemical pathways. In this work, we engineer globular protein vesicles (GPVs) by...
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Molecular Dynamics Investigation of the Impact of Methylation on the Nematic Phase of Phenyl Benzoate Mesogens and Dimers

Soft Matter, 2026, Accepted Manuscript
DOI: 10.1039/D6SM00196C, Paper

Open Access

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Jacob S Votava, Emily Davidson, Michael A. Webb
Liquid crystals (LCs) possess anisotropic mechanical and optical properties with applications ranging from soft robotics to display technology. Despite advances in the precise synthesis of liquid crystalline materials, the microscopic...
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Coupling of Lipid Phase Behavior and Protein Oligomerization in a Lattice Model of Raft Membranes

Soft Matter, 2026, Accepted Manuscript
DOI: 10.1039/D6SM00026F, Paper

Subhadip Basu, Oded Farago
Membrane proteins often form dimers and higher-order oligomers whose stability and spatial organization depend sensitively on their lipid environment. To investigate the physical principles underlying this coupling, we employ a...
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Wrinkles, rucks, and folds formed in a heavy sheet on a frictional surface

Soft Matter, 2026, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/D6SM00062B, Paper

Keisuke Yoshida, Hirofumi Wada
When a cloth is pinched and lifted from a table, a ghost-like shape appears with spontaneous wrinkles. In this study, indentation of a heavy elastic sheet on a frictional substrate reveals how a lifted shape develops wrinkles, rucks, and folds.
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Shape elasticity in colloidal bent-core liquid crystals

Soft Matter, 2026, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/D6SM00016A, Paper

Nicholas W. Hackney, Joel T. Clemmer, Gary S. Grest
Curved particles have been shown to stabilize a range of states with unique order in dense suspensions of colloidal bent core liquid crystals. This article examines the effect of shape elasticity on the equilibrium phase behavior of curved rods.
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Following the Formation of Single-Chain Nanoparticles Generated by Interblock Crosslinking within Diblock Copolymers: A Monte Carlo Simulation Study with Adjustable Interaction Strength between the Blocks

Soft Matter, 2026, Accepted Manuscript
DOI: 10.1039/D5SM01153A, Paper

Open Access

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Anja Voigt, Christian Strauch, Tom Höfken, Mirco Wahab, Wiebke Hadwich, Conrad Hübler, Stefanie Schneider, Felix Plamper, Christopher Barner-Kowollik
We investigated the folding and crosslinking of diblock copolymers with interblock-crosslinkable units in dilute solution. We used a bead-spring model for the polymer and Monte Carlo simulations for the crosslinking....
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Structure–rheology–thermal property correlation in graphene oxide reinforced gum acacia-g-poly(acrylic acid) nanocomposite hydrogels

Soft Matter, 2026, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/D6SM00176A, Paper

Pragnesh N. Dave, Sanjay Bamaniya, Pallavi Singh
The rational design of sustainable hydrogel systems with tailored mechanical stability and tunable viscoelastic properties remains a central challenge in soft materials science.
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Rounded hard squares confined in a circle

Soft Matter, 2026, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/D6SM00008H, Paper

Zhongtian Yuan, Yao Li
The system of hard squares confined within a circular boundary is examined, with particular emphasis on the resulting defect patterns.
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Strengthening biofilms with selective metal ions

Soft Matter, 2026, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/D5SM01096A, Paper

Open Access

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Kiera J. Croland, R. Kōnane Bay
The Uniaxial Tensile Tester for UltraThin films quantifies the stress–strain response of Bacillus subtilis pellicle biofilms treated with metal cations.
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Symmetry-breaking motility of an active hinge in a crowded channel

Soft Matter, 2026, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/D5SM00622H, Paper

Open Access

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Leonardo Garibaldi Rigon, Yongjoo Baek
We introduce an active-hinge model to study symmetry-breaking motility in crowded granular channels. The persistence of the motile state, maintained by positive feedback between motion and asymmetry, depends nonmonotonically on packing fraction.
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Electromechanical responses in water-rich self-assembled amphiphile gels and hydrated ionogels: reassessing piezoelectric attributions

Soft Matter, 2026, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/D6SM00047A, Paper

Open Access

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Erica Pensini, Alejandro G. Marangoni
Piezoelectric-like signals in hydrated ionic gels are not uniquely diagnostic of intrinsic polarization. Electrochemical, electrokinetic, and viscoelastic mechanisms can produce similar responses, as clarified by model-guided experiments.
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Microscopic measurement of the local deformation field establishes the mechanistic origin of the fatigue threshold for soft brittle materials

Soft Matter, 2026, Accepted Manuscript
DOI: 10.1039/D6SM00197A, Paper

Open Access

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Umut Altuntas, Chenzhuo Li, John Martin Kolinski
Fatigue fracture, whereby a material fails only under repeated loading cycles, depends strongly on load magnitude. In most materials, the applied load must exceed a threshold value - the fatigue...
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Coupling of electrospinning and photo-induced processes for advanced nanofibrous polymeric materials: current state-of-the-art and future perspectives

Soft Matter, 2026, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/D6SM00041J, Review Article

Open Access

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Thi Nhung Vu, Alessandra Vitale
Coupling electrospinning with photo-induced reactions enables robust, multifunctional nanofibrous materials. This review defines mechanisms and design principles for reactive and scalable fibrous systems.
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Disentangling microstructural elements of shear thickening suspensions via computer simulations of a minimal model

Soft Matter, 2026, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/D5SM00928F, Paper

Open Access

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William C. J. Buchholtz, Daniel L. Blair, Jeffrey S. Urbach, H. A. Vinutha, Emanuela Del Gado
Microstructure and force network changes in a model dense suspension undergoing shear thickening.
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The remarkable electrorheological behavior of amino-modified metal–organic frameworks with enhanced interfacial polarization

Soft Matter, 2026, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/D6SM00009F, Paper

Shuang Li, Liyue Wang, Chuanling Zhang, Ziqi Shan, Huanhuan Pang, Lili Ma, Baoxiang Wang, Chuncheng Hao
NH₂-modified MIL-125 nanoparticles were synthesized using a solvothermal method, which enables stronger electrorheological behavior under an external electric field.
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Recyclable flexible sensors based on digital-light-processing 3D printing of a thermoplastic elastomer and facile transfer of pencil-marked graphite films

Soft Matter, 2026, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/D6SM00058D, Paper

Linkai Wang, Meichen Liu, Dan Guo, Feng Jin, Chenyang Bi, Hui Zhang, Liang Jiang, Shaojuan Chen, Zhong Xiong
The elastomer strain sensor fabricated via digital-light-processing 3D printing and transfer of a pencil pattern can be recycled.
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The effect of weathering environments on microplastic chemical identification with Raman and IR spectroscopy: Part II. Polystyrene, polyethylene terephthalate, and nylon 6

Soft Matter, 2026, Accepted Manuscript
DOI: 10.1039/D5SM01102G, Paper

Open Access

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Samantha Phan, Jonathan Ratmahal, Christine Luscombe
The use of spectroscopic techniques to identify microplastics found in the environment is challenging because weathered microplastics undergo chemical changes that make their spectra drastically different from their pristine counterparts....
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Glass transition and subphase anchoring govern the emergence of viscoelasticity in polymer interfaces

Soft Matter, 2026, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/D6SM00064A, Paper

Daniel Ashkenazi, Stelios Alexandris, Jan Vermant, Dimitris Vlassopoulos, Moshe Gottlieb
The rheological properties of polymer-laden water/air interfaces and the ability to measure them are strongly correlated with the polymer film morphology.
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Rational design of amphiphilic pyrrolidinium derivatives: structure–activity correlation and alkyl chain tuning for superior antimicrobial activity

Soft Matter, 2026, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/D6SM00050A, Paper

Elmira A. Vasilieva, Darya A. Kuznetsova, Roman A. Babkin, Denis M. Kuznetsov, Anna P. Lubina, Alexandra D. Voloshina, Dilyara N. Valeeva, Lucia Ya. Zakharova
A novel homologous series of amphiphilic pyrrolidine derivatives, 1-alkyl-1-(2-(hexyl carbamoyloxy)ethyl)pyrrolidinium bromides (CPS-n-6, where n = 12, 14, 16, and 18), were synthesized and characterized.
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Diffusion of rod-like particles in complex fluids

Soft Matter, 2026, Accepted Manuscript
DOI: 10.1039/D6SM00101G, Paper

Open Access

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Władysław Sokołowski, Huma Jamil, Karol Makuch
Diffusion of particles in complex fluids and gels is difficult to describe and often lies beyond the scope of the classical Stokes-Einstein relation. One of the main lines of research...
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Morphological Transitions in the Crystallization-Driven Self-Assembly of Narrowly Distributed π-Conjugated Triblock Copolymer

Soft Matter, 2026, Accepted Manuscript
DOI: 10.1039/D6SM00165C, Paper

Bin Huang, Donglai Tian, Zhubin Liu, Yanchen Deng, Guiyou Wang, Aiguo Hu
Crystallization-driven self-assembly (CDSA) of π-conjugated block copolymers enables precise control over micellar morphology. However, generalizable strategies for preparing π-conjugated polymers with narrow dispersity (Đ < 1.3) to ensure reproducible self-assembly...
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Interfacial adsorption competing with thermal mixing in confined hydrogen-bonded polymer bilayers

Soft Matter, 2026, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/D6SM00129G, Paper

Hisashi Tetsutani, Masashi Ohno, Yohei Nakanishi, Tsukasa Miyazaki, Mikihito Takenaka, Norifumi L. Yamada, Hideki Seto, Hiroyuki Aoki, Katsuhiro Yamamoto
In confined polymer thin films, interfacial chain adsorption can fundamentally compete with thermally driven interdiffusion, leading to mixing behavior distinct from bulk systems.
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Excitability induced binary interactions in self-propelled Belousov–Zhabotinsky droplets

Soft Matter, 2026, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/D5SM01187F, Paper

Vivek Bharat Meshram, T. K. Shajahan
The Belousov–Zhabotinsky reaction is example of a nonlinear chemical oscillator, where the reagents undergo successive oxidation and reduction over time. This work presents the binary interaction between BZ droplets as a function of its excitability.
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Quantitative Prediction of Oil–Water Interfacial Tension in Surfactant Systems Using Dissipative Particle Dynamics

Soft Matter, 2026, Accepted Manuscript
DOI: 10.1039/D6SM00083E, Paper

Open Access

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Rachel Hendrikse, Carlos Amador, Mathew Davies, Mark Richard Wilson
We present a dissipative particle dynamics (DPD) model for surfactants at oil-water interfaces, parametrised directly against experimental data. The model is applied to pure and mixed systems of ionic and...
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Dynamics of emulsion drop impact, spreading and evaporation: Effect of internal phase gelation

Soft Matter, 2026, Accepted Manuscript
DOI: 10.1039/D6SM00195E, Paper

Open Access

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Mario Cordova-Gonzalez, Parisa Bazazi, S. Hossein Hejazi
The dynamics of drop impact, spreading, and evaporation on solid surfaces are fundamental to many processes, including agricultural spraying, printing, combustion, and coating. While these behaviors are well understood for...
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Effective interfacial tension of a film solidified during the collision of a molten wax droplet with a water surface

Soft Matter, 2026, Accepted Manuscript
DOI: 10.1039/D6SM00010J, Paper

So Kitsunezaki, Rina Nakashioya, Chihiro Uemura, Akio Nakahara
We investigated collision processes of droplets of paraffin wax melt with a water surface. We found that when the water temperature is significantly lower than the melting temperature of the...
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Thermal Dehydration of Swollen Heterogeneous Soft Materials

Soft Matter, 2026, Accepted Manuscript
DOI: 10.1039/D5SM01263E, Paper

Michele Curatolo, Giuseppe Tomassetti, Ruud van der Sman, Luciano Teresi
The dehydration of bi-layer soft materials under temperature variations is a key process in applications such as biomedical devices and responsive hydrogels. This study develops a multiphysics model to investigate...
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Coupling of colloidal rods to the dynamic order of active nematic films

Soft Matter, 2026, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/D5SM01073J, Paper

Open Access

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David P. Rivas, Louise C. Head, Jean-François Berret, Tyler N. Shendruk, Daniel H. Reich, Robert L. Leheny
The tracking of micrometer-scale rods in proximity to active nematic films provides a new perspective for characterizing spatio-temporal correlations in the nematic order and for measuring hydrodynamic forces generated by the films.
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Morphological changes in smectic liquid crystal microstructures

Soft Matter, 2026, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/D6SM00042H, Paper

Open Access

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Daichi Sato, Yutaka Sumino, Takahiro Yamamoto, Igor Muševič, Yoshiko Takenaka
Temperature-driven deformation of smectic liquid crystal microstructures reveals reversible transitions between umbrella-like and disc-like structures.
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Hierarchical Bayesian constitutive model selection for high-strain-rate soft material characterization

Soft Matter, 2026, Accepted Manuscript
DOI: 10.1039/D5SM01193K, Paper

Open Access

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Victor Sanchez, Sawyer Remillard, Bachir Ahmed Abeid, Lehu Bu, Spencer Breyngelson, Jin Yang, Jon Estrada, Mauro Rodriguez
The high-fidelity characterization of soft, tissue-like materials under ultra-high-strain-rate conditions is critical in engineering and medicine. Still, it remains challenging due to limited optical access, sensitivity to initial conditions, and...
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Hyperuniformity in ternary fluid mixtures: the role of wetting and hydrodynamics

Soft Matter, 2026, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/D6SM00012F, Paper

Nadia Bihari Padhan, Axel Voigt
Ternary fluid mixtures exhibit diverse phase separation morphologies similar to patterns in biomolecular condensates. We show these structures are hyperuniform, displaying anomalously suppressed large-scale density fluctuations.
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Modeling tumor transport and growth with poroelastic biopolymer networks

Soft Matter, 2026, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/D6SM00060F, Paper

Open Access

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Zecheng Li, Yifei Ren, Sharvari Kemkar, Paul Mollenkopf, Jakub Kochanowski, Paul A. Janmey, Prashant K. Purohit, Ravi Radhakrishnan, Kyle H. Vining
Poroelastic fluid outflow dominates stress relaxation in biopolymer networks. A balance between compression-driven advection and diffusion regulates the availability of growth factors and subsequent tumor proliferation in computational simulations.
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Symmetry breaking of interacting charge-regulated planar macroions at low salt concentration

Soft Matter, 2026, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/D6SM00194G, Paper

Open Access

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Ahmad M. N. Itani, Guilherme Volpe Bossa, Faruk Hossain, Sylvio May
The charge of macroions such as colloids and membranes can often be regulated by reversible ion adsorption or dissociation reactions.
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Crack patterns of black ink film: sumi-wari

Soft Matter, 2026, 22,2568-2577
DOI: 10.1039/D5SM01281C, Paper

Michiko Shimokawa, Lucas Goehring, Akie Kinoshita, Ludovic Pauchard, Hidetsugu Sakaguchi
Inspired by traditional Japanese art Sumi-wari, we investigate how surface-tension gradients drive star-shaped fractures in black ink films. By linking subphase viscosity to film stiffness via AFM, we propose a model to explain its complex dynamics.
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Activated solids: spontaneous deformations, non-affine fluctuations, softening, and failure

Soft Matter, 2026, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/D6SM00142D, Paper

Parswa Nath, Debankur Das, Surajit Sengupta, Debasish Chaudhuri
Internal activity can fundamentally reshape the mechanical behavior of solids, yet its role in softening and failure remains incompletely understood.
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Ultra-giant lipid vesicles functioning as a centimeter-sized smart chemical reactor

Soft Matter, 2026, 22,2482-2486
DOI: 10.1039/D5SM01226K, Paper

Open Access

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Nobuyuki Magome, Kaichi Nomura, Masato Hayashi, Yutaka Sumino, Kenichi Yoshikawa
We report a simple and robust method for generating centimeter-sized lipid vesicles (ultra-giant lipid vesicles, UGLVs) that serve as stable chemical reactors undergoing rhythmic chemical reactions accompanied by chemical waves.
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Nudging cell migration from within through microrod-induced morphological deformation

Soft Matter, 2026, 22,2578-2586
DOI: 10.1039/D5SM01149C, Paper

Open Access

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Masayuki Hayakawa, Tatsuya Tanaka, Hiroaki Suzuki
Motile Dictyostelium cells spontaneously internalize glass microrods. The resulting cell–rod composites align their velocity vectors with the rod axis and show enhanced migration persistence.
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Mechanisms of electrolyte (coagulant) dipping for thin nitrile gloves

Soft Matter, 2026, 22,2526-2537
DOI: 10.1039/D5SM01262G, Paper

Open Access

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Robert Groves, Kota Hatakeyama, Alexander F. Routh
Two mechanisms for film deposition during the electrolyte dipping process are examined.
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Using particle shape to control defects in colloidal crystals on spherical interfaces

Soft Matter, 2026, 22,2558-2567
DOI: 10.1039/D5SM01271F, Paper

Open Access

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Gabrielle N. Jones, Philipp W. A. Schönhöfer, Sharon C. Glotzer
For particles confined to a spherical interface, shape anisotropy changes the dominate lattice. The incompatibility between lattice symmetry and interface topology leads to a variety of defects with varying morphology and distribution.
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Water droplet attraction and coalescence on liquid-crystal-infused textured and porous surfaces

Soft Matter, 2026, 22,2545-2557
DOI: 10.1039/D5SM01184A, Paper

Open Access

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Filip Ferš, Xiaoguang Wang, Uroš Tkalec
Water droplets coalesce on liquid-crystal-infused surfaces via the same three-stage pathway as on slippery lubricant-infused porous surfaces (SLIPS), with ridge-mediated damping tuning the coalescence dynamics.
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Ice–rubber friction mechanisms across scales

Soft Matter, 2026, 22,2514-2525
DOI: 10.1039/D5SM01200G, Paper

Anderson Dalavale Kaiser Pinto, Denis Mazuyer, Juliette Cayer-Barrioz
Ice–rubber friction mechanisms: from molecular adhesion to macroscopic thermal analysis.
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Pre-yielding mechanical response near the jamming transition

Soft Matter, 2026, 22,2487-2498
DOI: 10.1039/D5SM01183C, Paper

Open Access

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Hidemasa Bessho, Takeshi Kawasaki, Kunimasa Miyazaki
The mechanical and rheological properties of jammed packings of frictionless particles under shear strain remain not fully understood, even when the strain amplitude is very small and well below the yielding threshold.
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The effect of charge density on the viscoelasticity and underwater adhesion of entangled complex coacervates from semi-rigid polysaccharides

Soft Matter, 2026, 22,2499-2513
DOI: 10.1039/D5SM01220A, Paper

Open Access

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Maxime Precheur, Ali Kanan, Alexei Dmitrievitsj Filippov, Kylian Virieux, Stéphane Trombotto, Fouzia Boulmedais, Mehdi Vahdati
Time–salt–charge density superposition reveals charge-density-dependent salt sensitivity in the complex coacervation of high-molecular-weight, semiflexible polyelectrolytes.
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Field-induced phase transition behaviour of ferroelectric nematic liquid crystals under DC electric fields

Soft Matter, 2026, 22,2538-2544
DOI: 10.1039/D5SM01272D, Paper

Mahiro Nakase, Hirokazu Kamifuji, Kazuma Nakajima, Hirotsugu Kikuchi, Kenjiro Fukuda, Masanori Ozaki
DC electric fields suppress polarization reorientation, leading to thickness-independent dielectric relaxation peaks and direct observation of field-induced ferroelectric transitions in ferroelectric nematic liquid crystals.
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Replicable 2.5D PDMS microfluidics with precision nanoscale features expand the dimensions of pore-scale flow studies

Soft Matter, 2026, 22,2466-2473
DOI: 10.1039/D5SM01004G, Communication

Open Access

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Kelsey Yao, Shaina Kelly
Customizable 2.5D microfluidic chips, tailored for rock-on-a-chip studies of pore-scale transport phenomena, are developed using direct laser writing (DLW) and soft lithography.
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Zoology of collective patterns modulated by non-reciprocal, long-range interactions

Soft Matter, 2026, 22,2474-2481
DOI: 10.1039/D5SM00657K, Communication

Edgardo Brigatti, Fernando Peruani
We investigate active particles that exhibit distance-independent interactions only restricted by a field of view, which is characterized by an angle β.
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Electro-magneto-kinetic thermo-fluid-structure-interactions of viscoelastic electrolytes through soft micro-confinements

Soft Matter, 2026, Accepted Manuscript
DOI: 10.1039/D5SM00876J, Paper

Open Access

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Apurba Roy, Purbarun Dhar
A coupled electro–magneto-hydrodynamic (EMHD) framework for a viscoelastic electrolyte (of Phan–Thien–Tanner (PTT) fluid rheology) flowing through a compliant micro-confinement with linearly elastic walls is developed. The flow is driven by...
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Liquid–liquid phase separation as a structuring tool for designing anisotropic food systems

Soft Matter, 2026, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/D5SM01134E, Review Article

Open Access

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Ashkan Madadlou
Anisotropic structures formed by flow-induced deformation and arrest in aqueous two-phase system (ATPS). Increasing deformation orients the dispersed phase. Once the structure is arrested, this anisotropy is locked in and transferred to the final product.
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A study on dopamine-assisted grafting of epoxidized elastomers for enhanced interfacial interaction in silica/ESBR composites

Soft Matter, 2026, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/D5SM01169H, Paper

Haiming Chen, Huijin Li, Zongfeng Wang, Wen Zhao, Lan Cao, Weimin Yang, Guangyi Lin
In the tire industry, silica has gradually replaced carbon black as a filler.
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Shape, confinement and inertia effects on the dynamics of a driven spheroid in a viscous fluid

Soft Matter, 2026, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/D6SM00038J, Paper

Open Access

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Aditya Bhowmik, Kevin Stratford, Oliver Henrich, Sumesh P. Thampi
Force-driven spheroids in confinement reveal rich and intricate dynamics determined by particle aspect ratio, strength of confinement, and fluid inertia.
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Mikto-grafted molecular brushes at liquid crystal-aqueous interfaces

Soft Matter, 2026, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/D6SM00097E, Paper

Chiraz Toujani, Ivana Herrera, Abelardo Ramírez-Hernández
Architecture-dependent surfactant behavior at liquid crystal-aqueous interfaces: bottlebrush architecture tunes interfacial tension and droplet shape while preserving nematic order.
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Thermotropic liquid crystal droplets stabilized by nanoparticles for the optical detection of phospholipid membranes: impact of membrane composition on LC ordering transitions

Soft Matter, 2026, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/D5SM01253H, Paper

Maria K. Oñate-Socarras, Oscar H. Piñeres-Quiñones, Lawrence M. Chen, Sean P. Palecek, David M. Lynn, Claribel Acevedo-Vélez
This work provides fundamental insight into nanoparticle-stabilized thermotropic liquid crystal droplets that combine colloidal stability with composition-dependent optical responses to interactions with phospholipid membranes at aqueous interfaces.
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Electric-field-induced switching of circularly polarized luminescence in a multicomponent emissive liquid-crystal system

Soft Matter, 2026, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/D5SM01195G, Paper

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Issei Nakano, Shufang Huang, Daiya Suzuki, Kosuke Kaneko, Junki Maegawa, Soichiro Kawamorita, Shuichi Suzuki, Yoshitane Imai
Doping achiral organoplatinum complexes into a chiral nematic liquid crystal yields emissive materials exhibiting strong circularly polarized luminescence. The helical structure enables continuous, reversible CPL switching under a DC electric field.
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Correction: Cancer cell dynamics navigating the complex microenvironment: active nematics and dynamic heterogeneity

Soft Matter, 2026, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/D6SM90056A, Correction

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Trevor Reid, Colton Ramsey, Yang Jiao, Yanping Liu, Bo Sun
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Self-assembly of quasicrystals under cyclic shear

Soft Matter, 2026, Accepted Manuscript
DOI: 10.1039/D6SM00068A, Paper

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Raphael Maire, Andrea Plati, Frank Smallenburg, Giuseppe Foffi
We investigate the self-assembly of two-dimensional dodecagonal quasicrystals driven by cyclic shear, effectively replacing thermal fluctuations with plastic rearrangements. Using particles interacting via a smoothed square-shoulder potential, we demonstrate that...
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Dynamics of an internally actuated weakly elastic sphere in a general quadratic flow

Soft Matter, 2026, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/D5SM01162K, Paper

Shashikant Verma, Navaneeth Kizhakke Marath
Internally actuated elastic particle in a quadratic flow.
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Phase diagrams of conformationally asymmetric pentablock copolymer melts: a theory and simulation study

Soft Matter, 2026, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/D5SM01223F, Paper

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Tristan Myers, So Jung Park, Arthi Jayaraman
MD simulations and SCFT calculations to predict phase diagrams for pentablock copolymers with conformationally asymmetric blocks modeled as chains with unequal stiffness or bead diameters.
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Dynamics of Particles Suspended in Field-Enhanced Microscale Flows

Soft Matter, 2026, Accepted Manuscript
DOI: 10.1039/D5SM01239B, Perspective

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Debmalya Halder, Andrew J. Yee, Minami Yoda, Shaurya Prakash
Understanding the dynamics of particles suspended in a flowing liquid is a fundamental fluid mechanics problem. Over the last several decades, significant advances in our theoretical and experimental understanding of...
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Steady rotation and wall-mediated dynamics of magnetic Janus particles in oscillating fields

Soft Matter, 2026, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/D5SM01257K, Paper

Amrutha Raghu, Kyle J. M. Bishop, Bhuvnesh Bharti
Janus particles with a ferromagnetic patch show height-dependent rolling and hybrid dynamics in oscillating magnetic fields, where moment coupling drives continuous rotation and boundary interactions govern trajectories.
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Finite size scaling of spinodal suppression in confined blends of strongly segregating polymers

Soft Matter, 2026, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/D6SM00074F, Paper

Pankaj Mahawar, Parth Pandya, Sivasurender Chandran
Interplay of geometrical confinement and chain adsorption at the substrate yield finite-size scaling and novel chain-length dependence for the restriction of the lateral unstable modes in strongly segregating polymer blends.
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Decoupling the structural origins of strength and toughness in industrially relevant heterogeneous elastomers

Soft Matter, 2026, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/D6SM00007J, Paper

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Yuri Ishikura, Erica Uehara, Yuji Higuchi
For randomly crosslinked elastomers, coarse-grained MD shows that strength is set by network topology (cycle rank), whereas toughness depends on effective chain ratio and strand-length uniformity, providing a rational design strategy for elastomers.
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Colloidal transport controlled by surface anchoring in active nematic fluids

Soft Matter, 2026, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/D6SM00024J, Paper

Wang Bo, Ye Hao, Sheng Qingyun, Quan Jingru, Lin Jianzhong
Achieving controllable transport within chaotic active nematics remains challenging. By tuning surface anchoring (0°–90°), colloidal transport is regulated from directed migration to topological trapping, revealing distinct dynamic regimes.
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Quantification of cholesterol incorporation in giant unilamellar vesicles produced by a modified cDICE method

Soft Matter, 2026, 22,2408-2421
DOI: 10.1039/D5SM01124H, Paper

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Marcos Arribas Perez, Gijsje H. Koenderink
MβCD-mediated cholesterol incorporation into emulsion-based GUVs quantified in situ using environment-sensitive fluorescent dyes.
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Response to dynamic shape changes in suspensions of hard rectangles

Soft Matter, 2026, 22,2447-2455
DOI: 10.1039/D6SM00037A, Paper

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Denis Dertli, Thomas Speck
While the autonomous assembly of hard nanoparticles with different shapes has been studied extensively both in experiments and simulations, little is known about systems where particle shape can be dynamically altered.
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Softening of shear-thickening in suspensions by the addition of large particles

Soft Matter, 2026, 22,2379-2388
DOI: 10.1039/D5SM01144B, Paper

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Alice Pelosse, Heinrich M. Jaeger
Addition of very large particles softens the shear-thickening response. The magnitude of this softening increases systematically with particle size.
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Quantifying the effects of cell death and agar density on yeast colony biofilms using an extensional-flow mathematical model

Soft Matter, 2026, 22,2430-2446
DOI: 10.1039/D5SM01051A, Paper

Alexander K. Y. Tam, Daniel J. Netherwood, Jennifer M. Gardner, Jin Zhang, Campbell W. Gourlay, Vladimir Jiranek, Benjamin J. Binder, J. Edward F. Green
We use thin-film mathematical modelling and parameter optimisation to show that agar density impacts yeast colony biofilm growth by modifying the strength of biofilm–substratum adhesion.
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Substrate-dependent interfacial structures of ultrathin poly(methyl methacrylate) films upon annealing revealed by sum frequency generation vibrational spectroscopy

Soft Matter, 2026, 22,2422-2429
DOI: 10.1039/D5SM01166C, Paper

Yiwen Chen, Bolin Li, Yunpeng Xie, Jinsheng Xu, Ningfang Wang, Hao Zhu, Pengcheng Hu, Xiaofeng Han, Zhigao Sheng, Xiaolin Lu
Ultrathin PMMA films on silica and CaF₂ substrates exhibit different SFG spectral features upon annealing. Annealing modulates relative SFG signal contributions between the surface and buried interface in ultrathin films on weakly interacting CaF₂.
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A flexible concentric coupled re-entrant-star composite structure with enhancing negative Poisson's ratio and mechanical strength

Soft Matter, 2026, 22,2399-2407
DOI: 10.1039/D5SM01284H, Paper

Mengting Zhao, Junli Chen, Xiaojing Wen, Bingqi Tian
CCRS synergistically couples RH and SH architectures to overcome the trade-off between auxetic deformability and load-bearing capacity, achieving ultra-large strain, strong negative Poisson's ratio, and enhanced mechanical stability.
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Liquid crystalline derivatives exhibiting smectic phases with ferro- and antiferro-electric properties

Soft Matter, 2026, 22,2389-2398
DOI: 10.1039/D6SM00028B, Paper

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Natalia Podoliak, Vladimíra Novotná, Terézia Jurkovičová, Věra Hamplová, Damian Pociecha, Martin Cigl
This work presents new smectogens possessing ferroelectric and antiferroelectric properties and the effect of the partial racemization of chiral molecular chains.
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Modular coupling of iron nanozymes and natural enzymes in responsive microgel reactors for enhanced cascade catalysis

Soft Matter, 2026, 22,2364-2378
DOI: 10.1039/D5SM01151E, Paper

Divya Gaur, Bijay P. Tripathi
The modular integration of natural enzymes with synthetic nanozymes provides a promising strategy for creating hybrid catalytic systems with high efficiency and adaptability.
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Soap film drainage using a centrifugal thin film balance

Soft Matter, 2026, 22,2339-2349
DOI: 10.1039/D5SM01129A, Paper

Antoine Monier, Kévin Gutierrez, Cyrille Claudet, Franck Celestini, Christophe Brouzet, Christophe Raufaste
Tuning effective gravity over more than two orders of magnitude using centrifugation, we demonstrate how marginal regeneration controls buoyancy-driven drainage in soap films and surface bubbles.
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The effect of molecular shape and chemical structure on the photo-physical properties of liquid crystals

Soft Matter, 2026, 22,2350-2363
DOI: 10.1039/D5SM01147G, Paper

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Jordan Hobbs, Richard J. Mandle, Johan Mattsson, Mamatha Nagaraj
The molecular shape and chemical structure of liquid crystals greatly influence their flourescence properties.
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The hidden wheel-within

Soft Matter, 2026, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/D5SM01041A, Tutorial Review

Open Access

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Falko Ziebert, Igor M. Kulić
Yes, animals do have wheels! Their generalized wheel – the “wheel-within” – is used across all clades of life, yet stayed long concealed in plain sight. Only its reinvention in soft robotics opened our eyes to its ubiquitous role in Nature.
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Dynamics of Marangoni-Driven Elliptical Janus Particles

Soft Matter, 2026, Accepted Manuscript
DOI: 10.1039/D5SM01270H, Paper

Pabitra Masanta, Ratan Sarkar, P. Parmananda, Raghunath Chelakkot
We investigate the spontaneous motion of an elliptical Janus particle, driven by Marangoni forces, on a water surface to understand how particle shape and size influence its dynamics. The Janus...
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Viscosity reduction of HPAM solutions induced by silica nanoparticle additives

Soft Matter, 2026, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/D5SM01258A, Paper

Mingbao Zhang, Xukang Lu, Moran Wang
This schematic shows how electrostatically repulsive SiO₂ nanoparticles modulate HPAM rheology across concentrations, causing a non-monotonic shift from thickening to thinning. The proposed framework semi-quantitatively captures the viscosity trends.
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Establishing direct relationships between soft material perception and rheology

Soft Matter, 2026, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/D5SM01286D, Paper

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Eric M. Burgeson, Jeffrey D. Martin, Matjaž Jogan, Simon A. Rogers
In soft materials, a clear relationship between material properties and human sensory perception has long been desired for design of consumer products, but the link has remained evasive.
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Correction: Capillary assembly of metal-coated polymer microspheres for interconnection in electronic applications

Soft Matter, 2026, 22,2330-2330
DOI: 10.1039/D6SM90038K, Correction

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Van Long Huynh, Knut E. Aasmundtveit, Hoang-Vu Nguyen
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Correction: Precision engineering of cholesteryl azobenzene dimers: investigating the impact of spacer lengths and terminal groups on photo-responsiveness

Soft Matter, 2026, 22,2329-2329
DOI: 10.1039/D6SM90037B, Correction

Open Access

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Yu Li, Jialin He, Yancong Feng, Guofu Zhou, Yang Zhang, Wei Zhao, Laurens T. de Haan
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Spatiotemporal mapping of microscale stiffness during collagen polymerization and crosslinking by optical multifrequency time-harmonic elastography

Soft Matter, 2026, 22,2279-2289
DOI: 10.1039/D5SM01259G, Paper

Frank Sauer, Jakob Jordan, Tom Meyer, Pedro Dantas de Moraes, Guillaume Flé, Josef A. Käs, Ingolf Sack
Optical multifrequency elastography resolves rapid, microscale stiffness dynamics during collagen polymerization and diffusion-driven crosslinking.
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Nonlinear elasticity and transition to macroscopic irreversibility in composite hydrogels

Soft Matter, 2026, 22,2290-2300
DOI: 10.1039/D5SM00990A, Paper

Open Access

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Ippolyti Dellatolas, Thibaut Divoux, Emanuela Del Gado, Irmgard Bischofberger
Filler-hydrogel composites exhibit viscoelastc properties with signatures of successive transitions from linear to non-linear elasticity to macroscopic irreversibility with increasing strain amplitude.
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Boundary aggregation of rod-shaped active agents

Soft Matter, 2026, 22,2310-2320
DOI: 10.1039/D5SM01136A, Paper

Jui-Lin Hsu, Chiao-Chen Chuang, No Chen, Chien-Jung Lo, Cheng-Hung Chang
By studying boundary aggregation in bacterial swarms and active rods, we identifies a transformation in confined active fluids. A density-orientation feedback loop mirrors the physics of motility-induced phase separation.
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A hydrogel foam with a gradient pore structure for highly efficient solar-driven seawater desalination

Soft Matter, 2026, 22,2301-2309
DOI: 10.1039/D6SM00022C, Paper

Tangsen He, Xin Li, Peng Kang, Ying Li, Haiyan Zhu, Gang Shi
A polyvinyl alcohol/acetylene black hydrogel foam (PAPHF) evaporator with a gradient pore structure was prepared. This novel structure can effectively reduce heat conduction loss and improve surface heat localization ability.
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Probing and modeling cell–cell communication in 2D biomimetic tissues

Soft Matter, 2026, 22,2321-2328
DOI: 10.1039/D5SM01072A, Paper

C. Vincent, S. Ravindran, A. M. Prevost, L.-L. Pontani, O. Bénichou, E. Wandersman
We probe and model molecular transport across 2D biomimetic tissues made of droplet interface bilayers decorated with nanopores.
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A new method to measure pore radius distribution of powders

Soft Matter, 2026, 22,2237-2248
DOI: 10.1039/D5SM01199J, Paper

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Yuechuan Lin, Josep Busom Descarrega, Ilaria Gaiani, Sidhanth Tyagi, Hans Jörg Limbach, Mark E. Ambühl, Adam S. Burbidge
A new method combines SEM imaging, deep learning, and a robust stereological algorithm to resolve sub-micron pore distributions in powders, outperforming X-ray tomography resolution.
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Customization and tuning of the degradation rate of X–Ca–alginate aerogels in the presence of PC 12 cells

Soft Matter, 2026, 22,2259-2269
DOI: 10.1039/D5SM01269D, Paper

Martina Rodriguez Sala, Grigorios Raptopoulos, Patrina Paraskevopoulou, Omar Skalli, Firouzeh Sabri
Tunable degradable substrates for nerve regeneration are of great interest and address a gap in the existing biomaterials field.
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Impacting spheres: from liquid drops to elastic beads

Soft Matter, 2026, 22,2226-2236
DOI: 10.1039/D5SM01078K, Paper

Open Access

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Saumili Jana, John Kolinski, Detlef Lohse, Vatsal Sanjay
A liquid drop impacting a non-wetting rigid substrate spreads, retracts and rebounds, while an elastic sphere deforms slightly and bounces off. This work bridges these two limits and offers a framework for liquid-to-elastic transitions.
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The effect of humidity, temperature, and drying duration on microparticle detachment force: insights into capillary-induced deformation at the particle–substrate interface

Soft Matter, 2026, 22,2249-2258
DOI: 10.1039/D5SM01109D, Paper

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Javad Sherafatpour, Anna Ipatova, Alexis Duchesne, H. N. Yoshikawa, Pascal Mariot, Christine Faille, Ichiro Ueno, Georg F. Dietze, Farzam Zoueshtiagh
Drying capillary bridges that squeeze microparticles, enlarge contact, and strengthen adhesion.
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Osmotic forces modify lipid membrane fluctuations

Soft Matter, 2026, 22,2270-2278
DOI: 10.1039/D5SM01094B, Paper

Open Access

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Amaresh Sahu
Osmotic forces alter thermal lipid membrane undulations, with long-wavelength fluctuations at moderate tensions no longer satisfying the well-known equipartition result.
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A simple model for poration induced electrodeformation of Giant Vesicles

Soft Matter, 2026, Accepted Manuscript
DOI: 10.1039/D5SM01250C, Paper

Rochish M. Thaokar, Rupesh Kumar, Nalinikanta Behera, Mohammad Maoyafikuddin
This work attempts to understand the mechanism of simultaneous electrodeformation and electroporation in Giant Unilamellar Vesicles (GUVs) using a simple semi-analytical model. The coupled equations of electroporation, electrohydrodynamics, and membrane...
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Nonequilibrium phases of a biomolecular condensate facilitated by enzyme activity

Soft Matter, 2026, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/D5SM01106J, Paper

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Sebastian Coupe, Nikta Fakhri
Energy-dependent helicase activity and RNA secondary structure work together to preserve an initial nonequilibrium state of condensate homogeneity and dynamics.
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Elastic resistive force theory: development and applications to flexible intruders

Soft Matter, 2026, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/D6SM00040A, Paper

Lale Yılmaz, Madison Douglas, J. Taylor Perron, Ken Kamrin
Improved reduced order modeling of granular intrusion/extraction problems matches experimental and higher order methods when applied to plant uprooting.
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A solvent-topology perspective on hydrophobic aggregation

Soft Matter, 2026, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/D5SM01246E, Paper

Open Access

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Vicente Domínguez-Arca
Solvent topology exhibits a sharp, kernel-dependent connectivity crossover even when amphiphile aggregation evolves smoothly.
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