PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

J Mieczkowski

Publications and source records attributed to J Mieczkowski.

6 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2003

Enhanced chirality by adding achiral molecules into the chiral system.

It is generally accepted that the doping of chiral materials with achiral molecules diminishes the chirality of the system. Here we report the opposite phenomenon. It was found that the structural chirality of smectic phases made of rodlike molecules, Sm-C(*) or Sm-C(*)(A) phases, measured as the reverse length of the helical pitch, is enhanced by adding small amount of achiral bent-shaped molecules. The effect is due to the chirality transfer between host and guest systems. Achiral bent-shaped molecules become structurally chiral due to the interactions with the chiral host that induces tilt and polar order of bent-shaped molecules. This induced chirality is then transferred back to the host.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2003

Bent-core liquid crystals forming two- and three-dimensional modulated structures.

Two columnar phases of bent-core molecules have been observed, with a two-dimensional (2D) structure modulated in the plane perpendicular to the direction of the spontaneous polarization vector. The phases are switchable under an applied electric field, contrary to the commonly observed 2D modulated B1 phase. These new phases are built from broken smectic layers with orthogonal or tilted molecules. The evidence for a 3D structure in which the density modulations along and perpendicular to the spontaneous polarization vector co-exists is also given.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2001

Reentrant ferroelectricity in liquid crystals.

The ferroelectric (Sm C*)-antiferroelectric (Sm C*A)-reentrant ferroelectric (re Sm C*) phase temperature sequence was observed for systems with competing synclinic-anticlinic interactions. The basic properties of this system are as follows: (i) the Sm C* phase is metastable in the temperature range of the Sm C*A; (ii) the helix handedness inverts at both Sm C*-Sm C*A and Sm C*A-re-Sm C* phase transitions; (iii) the threshold electric field that is necessary to induce synclinic ordering in the Sm C*A phase decreases near both Sm C*A-Sm C* and Sm C*A-re-Sm C* phase boundaries. All these properties are properly described by a simple Landau model that accounts for nearest neighboring layer steric interactions and quadrupolar ordering only.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2000

Induced antiferroelectric smectic- C(*)(A) phase by doping ferroelectric- C* phase with bent-shaped molecules

Doping of the ferroelectric Sm-C(*) phase with bent-shaped molecules induces the antiferroelectric Sm-C(*)(A) phase. The effect was observed by means of electro-optic and dielectric measurements in systems with weak interlayer interactions in which the relative strength of anticlinic-synclinic order between molecules in adjacent layers is easily controlled by external factors. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy studies suggest that the bent-shaped molecules are not flat. They reorient upon the electric field-induced antiferroelectric-ferroelectric transition to adopt a position in which the average direction of the carbonyl groups is in the smectic plane and a bending tip along the C2 symmetry axis.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2000

Behavior of frustrated phase in ferroelectric and antiferroelectric liquid crystalline mixtures.

Binary mixtures of two successive homologues from a series of 4-(4(')-alkoxy-biphenyl-4-yloxymethyl)benzoic acid 2-octanol esters exhibit a polar phase that differs from both ferroelectric (FE) and antiferroelectric (AF) phases, which exist in the pure compounds. When the concentration of the FE component is increased, this phase gradually changes its polar character from AF-like to FE-like, which is confirmed by the study of dielectric properties. Sample boundaries as well as the dc electric field introduce the FE phase, which remains stable after the field is switched off. Dielectric study confirms that this phase is composed of FE and AF clusters. The clusters arise due to frustration of FE and AF molecular order, which occurs as a result of the lowering of interlayer interactions.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1977

Total synthesis of hexuronic acids.

Six stereoisomeric hexuronic acids (tert-butyl esters of methyl pyranosides) having the altro, manno, gluco, gulo, galacto, and talo configurations were obtained from cis,trans-tert-butyl 2-methoxy-5,6-dihydro-2H-pyran-6-carboxylate (5). The synthesis involved the following successive steps: epoxidation of the double bond in 5, opening of the epoxides with dimethylamine, Cope degradation of the dimethyl-amino derivatives, and hydroxylation of the double bond in the tert-butyl hex-3-enuronates. All compounds were obtained as pure diastereoisomers in racemic form.

Hexuronic Acids↗