{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,16]],"date-time":"2026-05-16T05:14:32Z","timestamp":1778908472044,"version":"3.51.4"},"reference-count":38,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"4","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2013,3,28]],"date-time":"2013-03-28T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1364428800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/3.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Materials"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Cellulose micro\/nano-fibers can be produced by electrospinning from liquid crystalline solutions. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), as well as atomic force microscopy (AFM) and polarizing optical microscopy (POM) measurements showed that cellulose-based electrospun fibers can curl and twist, due to the presence of an off-core line defect disclination, which was present when the fibers were prepared. This permits the mimicking of the shapes found in many systems in the living world, e.g., the tendrils of climbing plants, three to four orders of magnitude larger. In this work, we address the mechanism that is behind the spirals\u2019 and helices\u2019 appearance by recording the trajectories of the fibers toward diverse electrospinning targets. The intrinsic curvature of the system occurs via asymmetric contraction of an internal disclination line, which generates different shrinkages of the material along the fiber. The completely different instabilities observed for isotropic and anisotropic electrospun solutions at the exit of the needle seem to corroborate the hypothesis that the intrinsic curvature of the material is acquired during liquid crystalline sample processing inside the needle. The existence of perversions, which joins left and right helices, is also investigated by using suspended, as well as flat, targets. Possible routes of application inspired from the living world are addressed.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ma6041377","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2013,3,28]],"date-time":"2013-03-28T13:35:44Z","timestamp":1364477744000},"page":"1377-1390","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":27,"title":["Cellulose Perversions"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"6","author":[{"given":"Jo\u00e3o","family":"Canejo","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"CENIMAT\/I3N, Materials Science Department, Faculty of Science and Technology, New University of Lisbon, Caparica 2829-516, Portugal"}]},{"given":"Maria","family":"Godinho","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"CENIMAT\/I3N, Materials Science Department, Faculty of Science and Technology, New University of Lisbon, Caparica 2829-516, Portugal"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2013,3,28]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"46","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jsb.2008.12.006","article-title":"Cortical cell types and intermediate filament arrangements correlate with fiber curvature in Japanese human hair","volume":"166","author":"Bryson","year":"2009","journal-title":"J. Struct. Biol."},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1180","DOI":"10.1145\/1141911.1142012","article-title":"Super-helices for predicting the dynamics of natural hair","volume":"25","author":"Bertails","year":"2006","journal-title":"ACM Trans. Graph."},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Darwin, C. (1880). The Power Of Movement in Plants, John Murray.","DOI":"10.5962\/bhl.title.102319"},{"key":"ref_4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1205","DOI":"10.3732\/ajb.0900045","article-title":"Moving with climbing plants from Charles Darwin\u2019s time into the 21st century","volume":"96","author":"Isnard","year":"2009","journal-title":"Am. J. Bot."},{"key":"ref_5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1095-8339.1865.tb00011.x","article-title":"On the movements and habits of climbing plants","volume":"9","author":"Darwin","year":"1865","journal-title":"J. Linn. Soc. Lond. Bot."},{"key":"ref_6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"241","DOI":"10.1007\/s00332-002-0493-1","article-title":"Tendril perversion in intrinsically curved rods","volume":"12","author":"McMillen","year":"2002","journal-title":"J. Nonlinear Sci."},{"key":"ref_7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1564","DOI":"10.1103\/PhysRevLett.80.1564","article-title":"Spontaneous helix hand reversal and tendril perversion in climbing plants","volume":"80","author":"Goriely","year":"1998","journal-title":"Phys. Rev. Lett."},{"key":"ref_8","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"101","DOI":"10.1023\/A:1008366526875","article-title":"Nonlinear dynamics of filaments","volume":"21","author":"Goriely","year":"2000","journal-title":"Nonlinear Dyn."},{"key":"ref_9","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1087","DOI":"10.1126\/science.1223304","article-title":"How the cucumber tendril coils and overwinds","volume":"337","author":"Gerbode","year":"2012","journal-title":"Science"},{"key":"ref_10","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1909","DOI":"10.1002\/pol.1982.180201014","article-title":"Phase behavior of the quasiternary system N-methylmorpholine-N-oxide, water, and cellulose","volume":"20","author":"Chanzy","year":"1982","journal-title":"J. Polym. Sci. Polym. Phys. Ed."},{"key":"ref_11","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"97","DOI":"10.1080\/15421407608083894","article-title":"Liquid crystalline structure in aqueous hydroxypropyl cellulose solutions","volume":"34","author":"Werbowy","year":"1976","journal-title":"Mol. Cryst. Liq. Cryst."},{"key":"ref_12","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"219","DOI":"10.1107\/S0365110X51000751","article-title":"Rotatory power and other optical properties of certain liquid crystals","volume":"4","year":"1951","journal-title":"Acta Crystallogr."},{"key":"ref_13","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"638","DOI":"10.1016\/0095-8522(62)90028-4","article-title":"The viscosity of concentrated solutions of rigid rodlike molecules (poly-\u03b3-benzyl-l-glutamate in m-cresol)","volume":"17","author":"Hermans","year":"1962","journal-title":"J. Colloid Sci."},{"key":"ref_14","first-page":"33","article-title":"Solid cholesteric films cast from aqueous (hydroxypropy1)","volume":"20","author":"Charlet","year":"1987","journal-title":"Cellulose"},{"key":"ref_15","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1002\/macp.201370001","article-title":"Structural color and iridescence in transparent sheared cellulosic films","volume":"214","author":"Fernandes","year":"2013","journal-title":"Macromol. Chem. Phys."},{"key":"ref_16","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"4821","DOI":"10.1002\/adma.200801008","article-title":"Helical twisting of electrospun liquid crystalline cellulose micro- and nanofibres","volume":"20","author":"Canejo","year":"2008","journal-title":"Adv. Mater."},{"key":"ref_17","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1151","DOI":"10.1002\/adma.200400719","article-title":"Electrospinning of nanofibres: Reinventing the wheel?","volume":"16","author":"Li","year":"2004","journal-title":"Adv. Mater."},{"key":"ref_18","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"415","DOI":"10.1021\/bm050837s","article-title":"Preparation of biopolymer fibres by electrospinning from room temperature ionic liquids","volume":"7","author":"Viswanathan","year":"2006","journal-title":"Biomacromolecules"},{"key":"ref_19","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"317","DOI":"10.1080\/15583720802022182","article-title":"A review: Electrospinning of biopolymer nanofibres and their applications","volume":"48","author":"Schiffman","year":"2008","journal-title":"Polym. Rev."},{"key":"ref_20","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1197","DOI":"10.1089\/ten.2006.12.1197","article-title":"Electrospinning of polymeric nanofibres for tissue engineering applications: A review","volume":"12","author":"Pham","year":"2006","journal-title":"Tissue Eng."},{"key":"ref_21","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"263902:1","DOI":"10.1063\/1.2753109","article-title":"Direct fabrication of twisted nanofibres by electrospinning","volume":"90","author":"Gu","year":"2007","journal-title":"Appl. Phys. Lett."},{"key":"ref_22","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"4807","DOI":"10.1063\/1.1762704","article-title":"Microscale polymeric helical structures produced by electrospinning","volume":"84","author":"Kessick","year":"2004","journal-title":"Appl. Phys. Lett."},{"key":"ref_23","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"5965","DOI":"10.1039\/c0sm00427h","article-title":"Self-winding of helices in plant tendrils and cellulose liquid crystal fibres","volume":"6","author":"Godinho","year":"2010","journal-title":"Soft Matter"},{"key":"ref_24","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1154","DOI":"10.1016\/j.eurpolymj.2007.01.003","article-title":"Solvent effects on jet evolution during electrospinning of semi-dilute polystyrene solutions","volume":"43","author":"Eda","year":"2007","journal-title":"Eur. Polym. J."},{"key":"ref_25","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"333","DOI":"10.1146\/annurev.matsci.36.011205.123537","article-title":"Nanofibrous materials and their applications","volume":"36","author":"Burger","year":"2006","journal-title":"Ann. Rev. Matter Res."},{"key":"ref_26","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"167","DOI":"10.1080\/10587259408046925","article-title":"Twisting transition in a capillary filled with chiral smectic C liquid crystal","volume":"238","author":"Cronin","year":"1994","journal-title":"Mol. Liq. Cryst."},{"key":"ref_27","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"417","DOI":"10.1146\/annurev.pp.19.060168.002221","article-title":"The physiology of tendrils","volume":"19","author":"Jaffe","year":"1968","journal-title":"Ann. Rev. Plant. Physiol."},{"key":"ref_28","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1082","DOI":"10.1002\/mame.201000207","article-title":"Highly oriented crystalline PE nanofibrils produced by electric-field-induced stretching of electrospun wet fibres","volume":"295","author":"Yoshioka","year":"2010","journal-title":"Macromol. Mater. Eng."},{"key":"ref_29","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1167","DOI":"10.1021\/nl0344256","article-title":"Electrospinning of polymeric and ceramic nanofibres as uniaxially aligned arrays","volume":"3","author":"Li","year":"2003","journal-title":"Nano Lett."},{"key":"ref_30","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"193111:1","DOI":"10.1063\/1.3430507","article-title":"Transversal electrostatic strength of patterned collector affecting alignment of electrospun nanofibres","volume":"96","author":"Pokorny","year":"2010","journal-title":"Appl. Phys. Lett."},{"key":"ref_31","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"19022","DOI":"10.1021\/la102209q","article-title":"Interplay of electrical forces for alignment of sub-100 nm electrospun nanofibres on insulator gap collectors","volume":"26","author":"Chaurey","year":"2010","journal-title":"Langmuir"},{"key":"ref_32","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1194","DOI":"10.1002\/pi.2465","article-title":"Effect of electric potential and coulombic interactions on electrospinning nanofibre distribution","volume":"57","author":"Zhang","year":"2008","journal-title":"Polym. Int."},{"key":"ref_33","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"5","DOI":"10.1023\/A:1016624330458","article-title":"Induced circular dichroism of chiral nematic cellulose films","volume":"8","author":"Edgar","year":"2001","journal-title":"Cellulose"},{"key":"ref_34","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"772","DOI":"10.1002\/adfm.201001397","article-title":"Structural origin of the strain-hardening of spider silk","volume":"21","author":"Du","year":"2011","journal-title":"Adv. Funct. Mater."},{"key":"ref_35","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"541","DOI":"10.1038\/35069000","article-title":"Liquid crystalline spinning of spider silk","volume":"410","author":"Vollrath","year":"2001","journal-title":"Nature"},{"key":"ref_36","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"519","DOI":"10.1098\/rspb.1999.0667","article-title":"Liquid crystals and flow elongation in a spider\u2019s silk production line","volume":"266","author":"Knight","year":"1999","journal-title":"Proc. R. Soc. Lond. B"},{"key":"ref_37","unstructured":"Donald, A., Windle, A., and Hanna, S. (2008). Liquid Crystal Polymers, Cambridge University Press. [2nd ed.]."},{"key":"ref_38","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2082","DOI":"10.1021\/ma00195a011","article-title":"Preparation and liquid-crystalline properties of (acetyl)(ethyl)cellulose","volume":"22","author":"Guo","year":"1989","journal-title":"Macromolecules"}],"container-title":["Materials"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/1996-1944\/6\/4\/1377\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,11]],"date-time":"2025-10-11T21:45:51Z","timestamp":1760219151000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/1996-1944\/6\/4\/1377"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2013,3,28]]},"references-count":38,"journal-issue":{"issue":"4","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2013,4]]}},"alternative-id":["ma6041377"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/ma6041377","relation":{},"ISSN":["1996-1944"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1996-1944","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2013,3,28]]}}}