Lyotropic liquid-crystalline phospholipids having an electro- and/or light-responsive mesogenic core were prepared. These LCs show lyotropic smectic A, smectic C, rectangular columnar, and nematic phases. We succeeded in the dynamic control of these LC phases by applying an electric field, which could lead to electrically switchable phospholipid bilayers.
This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry 2011