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Connectedness percolation phenomena in two-dimensional packings of elongated particles (discorectangles) were studied numerically. The packings were produced using random sequential adsorption (RSA) off-lattice model with preferential…
The microstructure of coagulated colloidal particles, for which the inter-particle potential is described by the DLVO theory, is strongly influenced by the particles' surface potential. Depending on its value, the resulting microstructures…
Proteins are an important class of biomolecules that serve as essential building blocks of the cells. Their three-dimensional structures are responsible for their functions. In this thesis we have investigated the protein structures using a…
The peculiar linear temperature-dependent swelling of core-shell microgels has been conjectured to be linked to the core-shell architecture combining materials of different transition temperatures. Here the structure of pNIPMAM-core and…
We use molecular simulations of an ionic liquid in contact with a range of nanoporous carbons to investigate correlations between ion size, pore size, pore topology and properties of the adsorbed ions. We show that diffusion coefficients…
Studies of random close packing of spheres have advanced our knowledge about the structure of systems such as liquids, glasses, emulsions, granular media, and amorphous solids. When these systems are confined their structural properties…
Observations of prestellar cores in star-forming filaments show two distinct morphologies. While molecular line measurements often show broad cores, submillimeter continuum observations predominantly display pinched cores compared to the…
We have discovered a new family of three-dimensional crystal sphere packings that are strictly jammed (i.e., mechanically stable) and yet possess an anomalously low density. This family constitutes an uncountably infinite number of crystal…
Phase separation is as familiar as watching vinegar separating from oil in vinegrette. The observation that phase separation of proteins and nucleic acids is widespread in living cells has opened an entire field of research into the…
Every realistic instance of a percolation problem is faced with some degree of polydispersity, e.g., the pore-size distribution of an inhomogeneous medium, the size distribution of filler particles in composite materials, or the vertex…
The formation of sintering bridges in amorphous powders affects both flow behavior and perceived material quality. When sintering is driven by surface tension, bridges emerge sequentially, favoring contacts between smaller particles first.…
We propose a physical mechanism to explain the crystal symmetries found in macromolecular and supramolecular micellar materials. We argue that the packing entropy of the hard micellar cores is frustrated by the entropic interaction of their…
Proteins employ the information stored in the genetic code and translated into their sequences to carry out well-defined functions in the cellular environment. The possibility to encode for such functions is controlled by the balance…
Phase separation of intrinsically disordered proteins is important for the formation of membraneless organelles, or biomolecular condensates, which play key roles in the regulation of biochemical processes within cells. In this work, we…
Two-dimensional simulations are used to explore topological transitions that occur during the formation of films grown from grains that are seeded on substrates. This is done for a relatively large range of the initial value $\Phi_s$ of the…
Protein-protein interactions (protein functionalities) are mediated by water, which compacts individual proteins and promotes close and temporarily stable large-area protein-protein interfaces. In their classic paper Kyte and Doolittle (KD)…
During the last decade, network approaches became a powerful tool to describe protein structure and dynamics. Here we review the links between disordered proteins and the associated networks, and describe the consequences of local,…
Hydrophobicity is thought to be one of the primary forces driving the folding of proteins. On average, hydrophobic residues occur preferentially in the core, whereas polar residues tends to occur at the surface of a folded protein. By…
Suspensions of hard core spherical particles of diameter $D$ with inter-core connectivity range $\delta$ can be described in terms of random geometric graphs, where nodes represent the sphere centers and edges are assigned to any two…
We report that protein confinement within nanoscopic vesicular compartments corresponds to a liquid-liquid phase transition with the protein/water within vesicle lumen interacting very differently than in bulk. We show this effect leads to…