@article{13971,
  abstract     = {When in equilibrium, thermal forces agitate molecules, which then diffuse, collide and bind to form materials. However, the space of accessible structures in which micron-scale particles can be organized by thermal forces is limited, owing to the slow dynamics and metastable states. Active agents in a passive fluid generate forces and flows, forming a bath with active fluctuations. Two unanswered questions are whether those active agents can drive the assembly of passive components into unconventional states and which material properties they will exhibit. Here we show that passive, sticky beads immersed in a bath of swimming Escherichia coli bacteria aggregate into unconventional clusters and gels that are controlled by the activity of the bath. We observe a slow but persistent rotation of the aggregates that originates in the chirality of the E. coli flagella and directs aggregation into structures that are not accessible thermally. We elucidate the aggregation mechanism with a numerical model of spinning, sticky beads and reproduce quantitatively the experimental results. We show that internal activity controls the phase diagram and the structure of the aggregates. Overall, our results highlight the promising role of active baths in designing the structural and mechanical properties of materials with unconventional phases.},
  author       = {Grober, Daniel and Palaia, Ivan and Ucar, Mehmet C and Hannezo, Edouard B and Šarić, Anđela and Palacci, Jérémie A},
  issn         = {1745-2481},
  journal      = {Nature Physics},
  pages        = {1680--1688},
  publisher    = {Springer Nature},
  title        = {{Unconventional colloidal aggregation in chiral bacterial baths}},
  doi          = {10.1038/s41567-023-02136-x},
  volume       = {19},
  year         = {2023},
}

@article{11340,
  abstract     = {Like-charge attraction, driven by ionic correlations, challenges our understanding of electrostatics both in soft and hard matter. For two charged planar surfaces confining counterions and water, we prove that, even at relatively low correlation strength, the relevant physics is the ground-state one, oblivious of fluctuations. Based on this, we derive a simple and accurate interaction pressure that fulfills known exact requirements and can be used as an effective potential. We test this equation against implicit-solvent Monte Carlo simulations and against explicit-solvent simulations of cement and several types of clays. We argue that water destructuring under nanometric confinement drastically reduces dielectric screening, enhancing ionic correlations. Our equation of state at reduced permittivity therefore explains the exotic attractive regime reported for these materials, even in the absence of multivalent counterions.},
  author       = {Palaia, Ivan and Goyal, Abhay and Del Gado, Emanuela and Šamaj, Ladislav and Trizac, Emmanuel},
  issn         = {1520-5207},
  journal      = {Journal of Physical Chemistry B},
  number       = {16},
  pages        = {3143--3149},
  publisher    = {American Chemical Society},
  title        = {{Like-charge attraction at the nanoscale: Ground-state correlations and water destructuring}},
  doi          = {10.1021/acs.jpcb.2c00028},
  volume       = {126},
  year         = {2022},
}

@article{11400,
  abstract     = {By varying the concentration of molecules in the cytoplasm or on the membrane, cells can induce the formation of condensates and liquid droplets, similar to phase separation. Their thermodynamics, much studied, depends on the mutual interactions between microscopic constituents. Here, we focus on the kinetics and size control of 2D clusters, forming on membranes. Using molecular dynamics of patchy colloids, we model a system of two species of proteins, giving origin to specific heterotypic bonds. We find that concentrations, together with valence and bond strength, control both the size and the growth time rate of the clusters. In particular, if one species is in large excess, it gradually saturates the binding sites of the other species; the system then becomes kinetically arrested and cluster coarsening slows down or stops, thus yielding effective size selection. This phenomenology is observed both in solid and fluid clusters, which feature additional generic homotypic interactions and are reminiscent of the ones observed on biological membranes.},
  author       = {Palaia, Ivan and Šarić, Anđela},
  issn         = {1089-7690},
  journal      = {The Journal of Chemical Physics},
  keywords     = {Physical and Theoretical Chemistry, General Physics and Astronomy},
  number       = {19},
  publisher    = {AIP Publishing},
  title        = {{Controlling cluster size in 2D phase-separating binary mixtures with specific interactions}},
  doi          = {10.1063/5.0087769},
  volume       = {156},
  year         = {2022},
}

@article{12108,
  abstract     = {The sequential exchange of filament composition to increase filament curvature was proposed as a mechanism for how some biological polymers deform and cut membranes. The relationship between the filament composition and its mechanical effect is lacking. We develop a kinetic model for the assembly of composite filaments that includes protein–membrane adhesion, filament mechanics and membrane mechanics. We identify the physical conditions for such a membrane remodeling and show this mechanism of sequential polymer assembly lowers the energetic barrier for membrane deformation.},
  author       = {Meadowcroft, Billie and Palaia, Ivan and Pfitzner, Anna Katharina and Roux, Aurélien and Baum, Buzz and Šarić, Anđela},
  issn         = {1079-7114},
  journal      = {Physical Review Letters},
  number       = {26},
  publisher    = {American Physical Society},
  title        = {{Mechanochemical rules for shape-shifting filaments that remodel membranes}},
  doi          = {10.1103/PhysRevLett.129.268101},
  volume       = {129},
  year         = {2022},
}