Mar 11 2021 Read 205 Times Author: Robert P. Rambo on behalf of Diamond Light Source Ltd Free to read Unlock In 2020, the most significant application of Soft-condensed matter (SCM) science was, undoubtedly, the development of the COVID vaccines by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna which are composed of a synthetic messenger RNA encapsulated within a lipid nanoparticle [1]. SCM science drives continued improvements to quality of life as SCM science is integral to a broad range of industrial sectors. These sectors include food safety and waste, agriculture, polymers, coatings, additive manufacturing, lubricants and additives, personal care, electronics, energy storage, transportation, health and medicine. SCM materials occur over a range of physical states that include liquid, semi-solid, waxes, glasses and aerosols. This necessitates a complementary and diverse suite of instrumentation and methodologies for understanding how molecular details give rise to the desired macroscopic, bulk properties of the material. Diamond Light Source, operating since 2007, is the United Kingdom’s synchrotron light source and provides four instruments (beamlines) for investigating SCM materials: B21 (high-throughput small-angle X-ray scattering for liquids), B22 (infrared nanospectroscopy and imaging), B23 (ultra-violet circular dichroism spectroscopy) and I22 (general purpose small angle X-ray scattering and diffraction for non-crystalline materials).