We present a comprehensive review of the cur- rent state of fracture phenomena in transient networks, a wide class of viscoelastic fluids. We will first define what is a fracture in a complex fluid and recall the main structural and rheological properties of transient networks. Secondly, we review experimental reports on fractures of transient networks in several configurations: shear-induced fractures, fractures in Hele-Shaw cells, and fracture in extensional geometries (filament-stretching rheometry and pendant drop experiments), including fracture propaga- tion. The tentative extension of the concepts of brittleness and ductility to the fracture mechanisms in transient net- works is also discussed. Finally, the different and appar- ently contradictory theoretical approaches developed to interpret fracture nucleation will be addressed and con- fronted to experimental results. Rationalized criteria to dis- criminate the relevance of these different models will be proposed.

When a very flexible wire is dipped into a soapy solution, it collapses onto itself. We consider the regions of high curvature where the wire folds back onto itself, enclosing a capillary film. The shapes of these end loops are measured in experiments using soap films and compared to a known similarity solution. The sizes of these structures provide a simple and reliable way to measure surface tension.

Acousto-Optical Coherence Tomography (AOCT) is a variant of Acousto Optic Imaging (also called Ultrasound modulated Optical Tomography) that makes possible to get resolution along the ultrasound propagation axis $z$. We present here new AOCT experimental results, and we study how the $z$ resolution depends on time step between phase jumps $T_\phi$, or on the correlation length $\Delta z$. By working at low resolution, we perform a quantitative comparison of the $z$ measurements with the theoretical Point Spread Function (PSF). We present also images recorded with different $z$ resolution, and we qualitatively show how the image quality varies with $T_\phi$, or $\Delta z$.

A new methodology for an antibacterial assay based on capillary electrophoresis with multiple UV detection points has been proposed. The possible antibacterial activity of cationic molecules on bacteria (Gram-positive and Gramnegative) is studied by detecting the bacteria before, during, and after their meeting with the cationic antibacterial compound. For that, a UV area imaging detector having two loops and three detection windows was used with a 95 cm ×100 μm i.d. capillary. In the antibacterial assay, the bacteria (negatively charged) and the cationic molecules were injected separately from each end of the capillary. The bacteria were mobilized by anionic ITP mode while cationic molecules migrate in the opposite direction under conditions close to CZE. The cationic molecules were injected into the capillary as a broad band (injected volume about 16% of the volume of the capillary) to prevent dilution of the sample during the electrophoretic process. Bacteriolytic activity, as well as strong interactions between the small antibacterial molecules and the bacteria, can be investigated within a few minutes. The assay was used to study the antibacterial activity of dendrigraft poly-L-lysines on Micrococcus luteus and Erwinia carotovora. Because dendrigraft poly-L-lysines are nonimmunogenic and have low toxicity, this new class of dendritic biomacromolecules is very promising for antibacterial applications.

Precisely how malaria parasites exit from infected red blood cells to further spread the disease remains poorly understood. It has been shown recently, however, that these parasites exploit the elasticity of the cell membrane to enable their egress. Based on this work, showing that parasites modify the membrane's spontaneous curvature, initiating pore opening and outward membrane curling, we develop a model of the dynamics of the red blood cell membrane leading to complete parasite egress. As a result of the three-dimensional, axisymmetric nature of the problem, we find that the membrane dynamics involve two modes of elastic-energy release: 1), at short times after pore opening, the free edge of the membrane curls into a toroidal rim attached to a membrane cap of roughly fixed radius; and 2), at longer times, the rim radius is fixed, and lipids in the cap flow into the rim. We compare our model with the experimental data of Abkarian and co-workers and obtain an estimate of the induced spontaneous curvature and the membrane viscosity, which control the timescale of parasite release. Finally, eversion of the membrane cap, which liberates the remaining parasites, is driven by the spontaneous curvature and is found to be associated with a breaking of the axisymmetry of the membrane.

The synthesis and the aggregation behavior of novel well-defined poly(N,N-diethylacrylamide)-b-poly- (L-lysine) (PDEAm-b-PLL) double hydrophilic block copolymers are reported. PDEAm-b-PLL was prepared using an original strategy which consisted of the ring opening polymerization (ROP) of N3- trifluoroacetyl-L-lysine N-carboxyanhydride using terminated-thiol PDEAm as a macroinitiator. After deprotection of the amine group of the L-lysine, pH- and thermo-sensitive poly(N,N-diethylacrylamide)- b-poly(L-lysine) block copolymers were obtained. The structure of the copolymers was characterized by 1H NMR and FT-IR. Then, pH and temperature sensitivities were measured by 1H NMR and UV/Vis spectroscopy. At different pH values and temperatures, poly(L-lysine) and poly(N,N-diethylacrylamide) showed typical behaviors, which led to different types of aggregation in aqueous solution. The influence of both stimuli was carefully investigated by DLS, TEM, and SANS.

Simplified silica (Zeosil 1165 MP) and SBR (140k carrying silanol end-groups) nanocomposites have been formulated by mixing of a reduced number of ingredients with respect to industrial applications. The thermo-mechanical history of the samples during the mixing process was monitored and adjusted to identical final temperatures. The filler structure on large scales up to micrometers was studied by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and very small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS). A complete quantitative model extending from the primary silica nanoparticle (of radius ≈10 nm), to nanoparticles aggregates, up to micrometer-sized branches with typical lateral dimension of 150 nm is proposed. Image analysis of the TEM-pictures yields the fraction of zones of pure polymer, which extend between the branches of a large-scale filler network. This network is compatible with a fractal of average dimension 2.4 as measured by scattering. On smaller length scales, inside the branches, small silica aggregates are present. Their average radius has been deduced from a Kratky analysis, and it ranges between 35 and 40 nm for all silica fractions investigated here (Φsi = 8−21% vol.). A central piece of our analysis is the description of the interaggregate interaction by a simulated structure factor for polydisperse spheres representing aggregates. A polydispersity of 30% in aggregate size is assumed, and interactions between these aggregates are described with a hard core repulsive potential. The same distribution in size is used to evaluate the polydisperse form factor. Comparison with the experimental intensity leads to the determination of the average aggregate compacity (assumed identical for all aggregates in the distribution, between 31% and 38% depending on Φsi), and thus aggregation number (ca. 45, with a large spread). Because of the effect of aggregate compacity and of pure polymer zones, the volume fraction of aggregates is higher in the branches than Φsi. The repulsion between aggregates has a strong effect on the apparent isothermal compressibility: it leads to a characteristic low-q depression, which cannot be interpreted as aggregate mass decrease in our data. In addition, the reinforcement effect of these silica structures in the SBR-matrix is characterized with oscillatory shear and described with a model based on the same aggregate compacity. Finally, our results show that it is possible to analyze the complex structure of interacting aggregates in nanocomposites of industrial origin in a self-consistent and quantitative manner.