Lipid islands on liquid crystal shells

By inducing phase separation in lipid monolayers on liquid crystal (LC) shells—thin hollow spheres
of LC with water inside and outside—we reveal a rich new set of coupled two- and three-dimensional
self-organization phenomena enabled by the dual closely spaced internal and external spherical LC–
water interfaces. Spindle-shaped 2D islands of condensed lipid monolayer first form at the primary
interface where lipids are deposited, later also at the initially unexposed secondary interface, because
lipids transfer through the LC. The LC’s elastic response to the 3D deformation caused by islands
moves them from thin to thick regions on the shell and creates an attraction between opposite-
side islands, topologically separated by the LC, until they stack in a sandwich-like manner. We
propose that the phase separation may be used for studying liposome adsorption on soft hydrophobic
substrates, and to create unconventional colloidal particles with programmed interactions