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Andraž Rešetič, at the invitation of the editor of Communications Chemistry, published a review article titled "Shape programming of liquid crystal elastomers," Commun Chem 7, 56 (2024), in which he provided a brief overview of current shape programming methods for liquid crystal elastomers (LCEs). LCEs are materials that reversibly change shape when exposed to external stimuli, such as light or heat. The local arrangement of liquid crystal components in LCEs affects the complexity of the shape response, and this arrangement is programmed into the material using various processes, including mechanical deformation, external electric or magnetic fields, polarized light, and other methods. As an unavoidable part of LCE synthesis, these processes also introduce geometrical constraints and influence the final size and amount of synthesized material. Therefore, the applicability of LCEs is highly dependent on the methods used. In the article, the author explored these limiting factors and provided his perspective on the future implementation of LCEs in everyday applications.

Franci Bajd, PhD, Mikac Urška, PhD, Assist. Prof. Aleš Mohorič, PhD and Prof. Igor Serša, PhD from the Department of Solid State Physics F5 have published an article titled The Effect of Polymer–Solvent Interaction on the Swelling of Polymer Matrix Tablets: A Magnetic Resonance Microscopy Study Complemented by Bond Fluctuation Model Simulations in the journal Polymers.

Understanding the tablet hydration process is important for the development of drug delivery systems that exhibit high drug loading capacity and controlled release potential. In this study, MRI was used to experimentally analyze the water hydration process of xanthan-based tablets and to characterize their swelling process with erosion, swelling, and penetration fronts. These results are complemented by numerical simulations of the polymer-matrix hydration process by the Bond Fluctuation Model, in which the polymer tablet matrix is modeled as an assembly of interacting chains with embedded drug particles, while its hydration process is mediated by interaction with solvent particles.