Skip to content
DraconiticResearch
Search Sources API
197,785 studies31 sourcesUpdated 39 min ago
PreprintCC BYChemRxiv

Modulating Phoretic Interactions through Molecular Recognition

  • Salah Eddine Ghellab1,2
  • Valiyakath Abdul Rinshad1,2
  • Aaranda Arooj3
  • Xuemao Zhou4,5
  • Angela Beth Grommet1,2
5 affiliations
  1. 1Department of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering
  2. 2Chalmers University of Technology
  3. 3Institute for Advanced Study, Shenzhen University, Nanhai Avenue 3688, Shenzhen, China, 518060
  4. 4School of Physics and Information Engineering Guangxi Science & Technology Normal University
  5. 5Institute for Theoretical Physics, Utrecht University, Princetonplein 5, Utrecht, Netherlands, 3584 CC
Open at sourcePDFDOICite

Abstract

Molecular recognition allows living systems to convert chemical information into physical behavior. Synthetic active matter lacks an analogous mechanism by which chemical information modulates phoretic interactions, which are determined instead by physicochemical properties. Here, we harness host-guest chemistry within coordination cages to enable the transduction of molecular recognition into non-equilibrium responses. We employ guest molecules as chemical signals which tune a tracer’s zeta potential upon binding within cages adsorbed to the particle interface. Phoretic mobility of these tracers is controlled via ionic diffusiophoresis. Experiments across multiple guests reveal a direct relationship between binding affinity, surface potential, and interaction sign, i.e. convergence toward or divergence away from the center of a gradient. We also present a predictive theoretical framework that quantitatively maps guest properties onto the sign and magnitude of phoretic interactions. These results establish molecular recognition as a chemical code for modulating interactions in active matter.

Related

  1. Phoretic interactions in two-medium wedge geometries
    Abdallah Daddi-Moussa-Ider
    arXivPreprintCC BY 4.0Full textCondensed matterFluid dynamicsarXiv
  2. Phoretic flow in a three-dimensional wedge geometry
    Abdallah Daddi-Moussa-Ider, Semyon Yakubovich, Maciej Lisicki
    arXivPreprintCC BY 4.0Full textCondensed matterFluid dynamicsarXiv
  3. Interacting self-phoretic particles on a ring
    Leah Anderson, David S. Dean
    arXivPreprintarXiv licenceFull textCondensed matterStatistical & nonlinear physicsarXiv
  4. Colloid recovery from porous structures under ambient flow: enhanced extraction via phoretic and osmotic mechanisms
    Jitendra Dhakar, Kapil Upadhyaya, Akash Choudhary
    arXivPreprintarXiv licenceFull textCondensed matterFluid dynamicsarXiv
  5. Extreme loss suppression in an ultracold molecular gas with widely tunable dipolar interactions
    Weijun Yuan, Siwei Zhang, Niccolò Bigagli +5
    SciencePeer-reviewedLicence not statedFull text19 citedAtomic, molecular & optical physicsOpenAlex

Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@misc{ghellab2026modulating,
  title = {{Modulating Phoretic Interactions through Molecular Recognition}},
  author = {Salah Eddine Ghellab and Valiyakath Abdul Rinshad and Aaranda Arooj and Xuemao Zhou and Angela Beth Grommet},
  howpublished = {ChemRxiv},
  year = {2026},
  month = sep,
  doi = {10.26434/chemrxiv.15009245/v1},
  url = {https://chemrxiv.org/doi/full/10.26434/chemrxiv.15009245/v1},
  note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY  - UNPB
TI  - Modulating Phoretic Interactions through Molecular Recognition
AU  - Salah Eddine Ghellab
AU  - Valiyakath Abdul Rinshad
AU  - Aaranda Arooj
AU  - Xuemao Zhou
AU  - Angela Beth Grommet
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/09/22
PB  - ChemRxiv
DO  - 10.26434/chemrxiv.15009245/v1
UR  - https://chemrxiv.org/doi/full/10.26434/chemrxiv.15009245/v1
AB  - Molecular recognition allows living systems to convert chemical information into physical behavior. Synthetic active matter lacks an analogous mechanism by which chemical information modulates phoretic interactions, which are determined instead by physicochemical properties. Here, we harness host-guest chemistry within coordination cages to enable the transduction of molecular recognition into non-equilibrium responses. We employ guest molecules as chemical signals which tune a tracer’s zeta potential upon binding within cages adsorbed to the particle interface. Phoretic mobility of these tracers is controlled via ionic diffusiophoresis. Experiments across multiple guests reveal a direct relationship between binding affinity, surface potential, and interaction sign, i.e. convergence toward or divergence away from the center of a gradient. We also present a predictive theoretical framework that quantitatively maps guest properties onto the sign and magnitude of phoretic interactions. These results establish molecular recognition as a chemical code for modulating interactions in active matter.
ER  -