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Shedding new light on how polymer liquids separate

The formation of structures in our cells that help our cells to function depends on how liquids containing polymer-like materials separate into different liquids. Better known as liquid-liquid phase separation, or LLPS for short, this also affects the type of structures that emerge in artificial cells or in bio-inspired materials.

Interactions between polymers in the liquid and interactions between polymers and the solvent lead to two types of separations. First, in segregative liquid-liquid phase separation, repulsion between unlike polymers leads to the formation of two or more distinct phases (image on the right).

On the contrary, in associative liquid-liquid phase separation, when attraction between two different polymers is strong enough, a dense mixture of both polymers appears and is separate from a part where the solvent reigns supreme (image on the left). Until now, segregative separation has been well understood, but the same cannot be said for associative separation.

Using theory for how polymer solutions mix and unmix, Remco Tuinier and 脕lvaro Gonz谩lez Garc铆a from the Department of Chemical Engineering and Chemistry have shed new light on how polymer-based liquids separate. Their work could help others to better understand how proteins aggregate in cells 鈥� a signature of several neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer鈥檚 and Parkinson鈥檚, as well as guide the design of artificial materials.

More information on the paper:

鈥楢ssociative and segregative liquid-liquid phase separation in macromolecular solutions鈥�, Newton, (2026). Read the paper .

Using polymers to make ultrasmall structures for blue perovskite LEDs

Light-based technologies such as solar cells, photodetectors, lasers, and light-emitting diodes (LEDs) can all be made from so-called metal halide perovskites 鈥� a class of semiconductor materials that excel when emitting or detecting light. Yet, in the case of LEDs, perovskite material performance is limited as it鈥檚 quite difficult to make the nanocrystalline structures needed to optimize light production.

To solve this issue, Mike Pols and Shuxia Tao from the Department of Applied Physics and Science Education, along with an extensive team of China-based researchers (at Peking University and Beijing University of Technology amongst others) have worked on a way to produce efficient blue-light emitting perovskite LEDs (PeLEDs).

Key to the process was the use of in situ polymerization-driven nanocrystal confinement where a polymer network was used to limit crystal formation to a certain region, while at the same time ensuring that the perovskite nanocrystals in the crystal were particularly small (11 nanometers in size).

The researchers then used the crystals to make high-performing blue PeLEDs. Their work could benefit a host of technologies, such as display screens and a range of optoelectronic devices.

More information on the paper:

鈥業n situ nanocrystal confinement for efficient blue perovskite LEDs鈥�, Nature, (2026). Read the paper .

Measuring the viscoelastic forces caused by living cells

Our organs and tissues are made up of living cells surrounded by a biomaterial known as the extracellular matrix. Engineered biomaterials can replicate this extracellular matrix and even deliver engineered signals that steer how cells behave.

When cells interact with either natural or engineering biomaterials, they pull on them and generate forces that influence tissue structure and function. These forces can be estimated by tracking how the biomaterials deform using  traction force microscopy. However, current methods assume that biomaterials act like an elastic spring when in fact they are viscoelastic: deform under force and relax over time.

An international collaboration led by Vito Conte from the Department of Biomedical Engineering has solved this issue by developing viscoelastic traction force microscopy (veTFM), an integrated experimental and computational approach that measures the viscoelastic response of biomaterials. veTFM combines images of cell-induced deformation with measurements of the biomaterial鈥檚 mechanical response to calculate cellular forces.

The new method was used to measure the forces created by beating heart muscle cells, organ-lining cells, and skin fibroblasts on viscoelastic biomaterials. Crucially, it provides a more realistic picture of cell鈥揵iomaterial mechanics, which is needed for the new materials for tissue repair and regeneration.

(Image on the left: (Top) Beating heart muscle cell. (Bottom) veTFM map of forces exerted by cell on biomaterial. Image: Vito Conte)

More information on the paper:

鈥楾raction Force Microscopy for Viscoelastic Substrates: A Semi-Analytical Method鈥�, Advanced Science (2026). Read the paper .