Self-assembling and manipulation of nanoparticles in topological defects

Control of the spatial positioning of nanoparticles (NPs) over multiple length scales is very promising for new and more efficient nanotechnologies involving the fields of material science, photonics, renewable energies, biomedical applications, and enabling lab-on-a-chip solutions (for sensing, imaging, drug delivering, etc.) [1-4]. In this work a strategy to assemble and manipulate nanoparticles arrays is reported [5]. We demonstrate that topological defects, namely disclination lines created in chiral liquid crystals, let the control of nanoparticles located therein by low power light. Wide-ranging rotation, translation and deformation of light-emitting quantum dots chains is achieved by homogeneous LED irradiation. Full reconfigurability and time stability make this approach attractive for future developments and applications.