Lipid-Mediated Control of Thermally Induced Shape Transformations in Liquid Crystal Droplets

Each movie corresponds to one combination of internal monoolein content (1, 2, or 5 wt % in the 8CB) and external DLPG concentration (1, 5, or 10 mM). On heating, the droplets pass through smectic, nematic, and isotropic states: thin birefringent filaments form in the smectic phase, retract abruptly at the smectic‑to‑nematic transition (~36 °C), and give way to larger droplet deformation in the nematic phase before the droplets become spherical and dark in the isotropic phase.

The temperature is displayed in the upper‑right corner and a 100 µm scale bar in the lower‑right corner of every frame.