Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. 2008, 47, 6345–6346
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Preface to the Complex Materials Special Issue G. Lian* UnileVer Research Colworth, Bedford MK44 1LQ, United Kingdom
V. M. Naik Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Mumbai 400076, India
J. Li Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, People’s Republic of China It is not often that foods and homecare and personal-care products;collectively called consumer products;are referred to as “complex, multiscale materials”, but they were the inspiration behind the theme of the first International Conference on Multiscale Structures and Dynamics of Complex Systems, held in August 29-31, 2007 in Beijing. The conference was co-sponsored by the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), the Indian National Science Academy (INSA), the Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE), the Royal Academy of Engineering (RAE), and Unilever. It brought together over 80 leading academic and industrial research scientists from around the world for fascinating discussions on the bewilderingly complex material systems that constitute and characterize the outwardly simple consumer products of daily use, the substrates on which these products interact, and the multicellular sensory organs through which we perceive them. The objective was to stimulate interdisciplinary face-to-face dialogues on emergent generic principles for designing novel multiphase and hierarchically structured materials to deliver the desired performance and unique sensorial experience. Invited speakers at the conference were eminent scientists from diverse disciplines who were interested in the emerging field of multiscale phenomena. Several high-scientific-quality oral and poster presentations on the subject by leading practitioners and scientists were also selected. The conference was an evolutionary sequel to five international meetings organized earlier under the auspices of the “Royal Society-Unilever Indo-UK Forum in Materials Science and Engineering”, during the decade of 1990s. Those meetings provided a platform for engaging interdisciplinary interactions at the border between basic science and applied research in multiphase composite materials, as encountered in the world of consumer products. The proceedings of the meetings were co-published by the Imperial College Press and the Royal Society, to serve as valuable reference books. Since then, the frontiers of science and engineering have moved forward. “Multiscale Structures and Dynamics of Complex Systems” is emerging as a unifying theme and thrust area of research, for comprehending and harnessing the world of man-made as well as natural complex materials. The event at Beijing was organized to explore these new horizons through four perspectives, viz. (i) challenges and opportunities in designing functionally and sensorially appealing products, (ii) inspiration and learning from nature in the creation of multiscale structured materials and understanding complex biosystems, (iii) design and synthesis of functional multiscale structures, and (iv) measurement as well * To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail address:
[email protected].
as modeling of such materials at molecular, mesoscopic, and process scales. Collected in this special issue is a selection of scientific papers presented at the conference. It is a sample of recent progress in the understanding of man-made multiscale soft condensed matter systems, biosubstrates, and their dynamics. The challenges and opportunities in designing desired multiscale structures of complex materials are highlighted by three papers: (i) the study of ice structuring protein and ice crystal effects on ice cream creaminess, (ii) soap as a hierarchically structured soft condensed matter composite, and (iii) transdermmal permeation of functional molecules, through “bricks and mortar” structures of the stratum corneum of skin. The paper on biomimic superhydrophobic surface with high adhesive forces is based on inspirational learning from nature. There are two additional papers on surface modification: one on tuning soft poly(styrene sulfonate) brushes with cationic surfactants, and the other on lipase immobilization on oleic acid block copolymers for hydrolysis at oil/water interfaces. Most articles in the issue are on the design and synthesis of functional structures and nanoparticulate systems, including interfacial and bulk selfassemblies or self-organized structures formed by surfactants, block copolymers, peptides, colloids, etc. Papers in this part cover recent progress in stress-engineered polymeric nanostructures, the use of peptides as functional surfactants, particlestabilized emulsions, the manipulation of polymer polarity for the preparation of golf-ball-like particles, the preparation of smart functional nanoparticles by assembling block copolymers, microchannel emulsification, preparation of uniformly sized emulsions, gel particles, and hydrophilic particles. Last, but not least, the application of dynamic density functional theory for microphase separation and morphology of polymeric system underscores the role of theoretical modeling tools in the field of multiscale structures composed of complex soft condensed matter. The topics covered by this special issue are truly diverse, ranging from synthetic to biological, from experimental to theoretical, and spanning molecular to nanoscopic, mesoscopic, and macroscopic scales. Such diversity of topics is united by the theme of how the understanding of multiscale structures of complex materials can be harnessed for the creation of new products for foods, as well as homecare and personal care products, for contributing to and raising the quality of people’s lives. A conference, followed by the special issue of this journal, covering topics of such diversity and unity cannot be achieved without the enduring support and promotion of many people and the financial support of Unilever Plc. In particular, we would
10.1021/ie801055n CCC: $40.75 2008 American Chemical Society Published on Web 08/27/2008
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like to acknowledge various committees of the conference: the Steering Committee, chaired Dr. C. V. Natraj (Unilever, U.K.) and consisting of Dr. Jim Darwent (Unilever), Prof. Lynn Gladden (Cambridge University), Prof. Jinghai Li (Chinese Academy of Sciences), and Dr. Vijay Naik (Unilever, India); the Scientific Committee, chaired by Prof. Jinghai Li (Chinese Academy of Sciences) and consisting of Dr. Michael Butler (Unilever, U.K.) Prof. Lynn Gladden (Cambridge University, U.K.), Dr. B. D. Kulkarni (National Chemical Laboratory, India), Dr. Guoping Lian (Unilever, U.K.), Dr. V. M. Naik (Unilever, India), Dr. Eddie Pelan (Unilever, The Netherlands), and Prof. Jonathan Seville (Birmingham University, UK); and the Organizing Committee, chaired by Dr. Ya Cai (Unilever, Shanghai) and consisting of Dr. Guoping Lian (Unilever, U.K.), Dr. David Liu (Unilever, China), Prof. Huizhou Liu (Institute of Process Engineering, China), Prof. Guanghui Ma (Institute
of Process Engineering, China), and Dr. Janhavi Raut (Unilever Research Bangalore, India). We are indebted to Dr. R. A. Mashelkar (President of INSA and President of IChemE) and Prof. M. Kwauk (Director Emeritus of Institute of Process Engineering, China), who served as the senior advisors of the conference. Finally, we would like to thank the oral and poster presenters, as well as the chairmen of the conference sessions. Many students and staff from the Institute of Process Engineering, China Agricultural University and Unilever Research Shanghai helped the administration of the conference, and their assistance is acknowledged. ReceiVed for reView July 09, 2008 Accepted July 09, 2008 IE801055N
