Effects of porous media on the phase behaviour of polypeptide solutions

TL;DR

This paper uses a generalized van der Waals model to study how porous media influence the phase behavior of polypeptide solutions, revealing shifts in phase diagrams and the existence of multiple nematic phases.

Contribution

It introduces a temperature-dependent model for anisotropic fluids in porous media, capturing complex phase behaviors of polypeptides not previously modeled.

Findings

Porous media shift phase diagrams to lower densities and temperatures.

The model reproduces the existence of two nematic phases in PBLG solutions.

Porous media influence the phase behavior of anisotropic polypeptide solutions.

Abstract

The generalized van der Waals equation for anisotropic fluids in porous media, proposed by the authors in previous works, is used to describe the effect of porous media on the phase behavior of polypeptide solutions. By introducing the temperature dependence for the depth of the potential well and the geometric parameters of the spherocylinder, the main features of phase behavior of the polypeptide poly ($\gamma$-benzyl-$L$-glutamate) (PBLG) in a solution of dimethylformamide, including the existence of two nematic phases, is reproduced. It is shown that the presence of a porous medium shifts the phase diagram to the region of lower densities and lower temperatures.