Terraces in the cholesteric phase of DNA liquid crystals

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Abstract
Near the transition to the columnar phase, the cholesteric liquid crystal phase in an aqueous solution of DNA fragments with contour lengths approximating the persistence length undergoes an unwinding of the cholesteric pitch. Unwinding of the cholesteric with planar alignment of the fragments was studied by polarized light microscopy. Terraces or ‘‘Grandjean planes’’ of cholesteric are seen as uniformly birefringent fields of distinct hues (typically blue), bounded by lines which moved as the local concentration of DNA increased. These lines are interpreted as disclination lines, bounding regions of different total twist, which move as the intrinsic pitch of the cholesteric varies with concentration.