Liquid crystalline phase transitions in virus and virus/polymer suspensions

Using experimental, theoretical, and simulation methods, we investigate the relationship between the intermolecular interactions of rod-like colloids and the resulting liquid crystalline phase diagrams. As a model system of rod-like particles we use bacteriophage fd, which is a charge stabilized colloid. We are able to engineer complex attractive and repulsive intermolecular interactions by changing the ionic strengths of the suspensions, attaching covalently bound polymers and adding nonadsorbing polymers. Using standard molecular cloning techniques it is also shown that the aspect ratio of the rod-like particle can be manipulated. In the limit of high ionic strength the fd virus quantitatively agrees with the Onsager theory for the isotropic-nematic (I-N) phase transition in hard rods. The role of attractive interaction on the nature of the I-N phase transition is investigated. As the strength of the attraction is increased we observe isotropic-smectic (I-S) phase transitions. Using an optical microscope we follow the kinetics of the I-S phase transition and observe a wide range of novel structures of unexpected complexity. We also investigate the influence of adding hard spheres, or polymers on the nematic-smectic phase transition. We conclude that adding small spheres stabilizes the smectic phase and destabilizes the nematic phase.