The new phase transitions of solutions and gels in water seem to go against the basic principles of chemistry and were discovered by accident.
A hydrogel is changed to a liquid by water. You should increase the concentration of the hydrogel. The researchers accidentally discovered that their liquid solution turned into a gel. Many areas in chemistry and biology could be affected by this phenomenon.
The research focuses on the creation of gels. It starts with a solution of two substances. There is a specific ratio of these two substances in the water. The gel is formed by long supramolecular networks. Where the phase transition of the gel formation is located is determined by the amount of substances in the water. The gel becomes liquid when the concentration isn't changed. This is something that has been done before.
It is extraordinary that a gel can form again if the solution is furtherDiluted. There are other supramolecular structures that become a hydrogel again. It can become a liquid again if it is further Diluted. The paper looked at what the correct proportions of active substances should be. The transitions are irreversible. The transitions from liquid to gel to liquid to gel are the same if concentrations are increased. This phenomenon has never been studied or documented before and should be present in other fields.
It was discovered by mistake.
The subject of this research has been going on for a decade. It was difficult to get the transitions to work in the solution. The liquid mixture of two components became a hydrogel after being accidentallyDiluted.
It is important to show that what you learn in chemistry lessons is not always right. Not all gels and solutions are liquids.
Lu Su was immediately interested in that result. It was an accident. I saw more possibilities right away. We could demonstrate a double transition. Adding more water will allow you to return to a gel and a liquid at the same time.
When Jess and Cyprien began their research, I was not sure if we had something special. When young researchers start something they are excited about and you don't see it yourself, you have to support and trust them." I was told by my intuition to be positive. That's the funniest thing about researching. Sometimes what you design in advance doesn't work, but you can discover the unexpected by chance. I have supported them from the beginning.
The lockdowns are locked.
It's important to mention that the world was faced with lockdowns and the TU/e labs were also closed after the discovery. After Jess and Cyprien left the Netherlands, Su had a lot of time to think about how she could deal with this. We came up with a plan to set up the experiments. We were able to come up with a good setup.
The labs reopened in the summer of 2020. It turned out to be correct. Su makes a statement. We did the basics of our experiment within a month.
The first draft of the article was written by the researchers together. It's important to make sure that your interpretations are correct when you find something special. I encouraged them to invest in broadening the scope because of that. The experiments were set up by Su. She was unable to perform them in the lab herself because she was pregnant, but her colleagues took over. Experiments were repeated to get better results.
It is not clear how much the discovery will affect chemistry and biology, but it is certain that it will. It might be a good idea to use such hydrogels for the cultivation of stem cells. The cells can be divided into three dimensions in the gel and you can use them immediately if you want. That is the research that we are doing with the group of people. To find the right substances that don't react to the cell walls is the trick. Our research can lead to other research.
More information: Lu Su et al, Dilution-induced gel-sol-gel-sol transitions by competitive supramolecular pathways in water, Science (2022). DOI: 10.1126/science.abn3438. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abn3438 Journal information: Science
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