| We discuss the emergence of topological defects due to orientational anchoring of liquid crystal molecules at closed surfaces of colloidal inclusions. We present recent experiments that investigate the law of conservation of the topological charge in novel geometries that allow for the controlled creation and annihilation of topological charges. We discuss colloidal interactions mediated by the entanglement of closed topological defect loops, where the ultimate complexity is demonstrated in knotted and linked chiral nematic colloids. Here, the topological defect loops form knots and links of arbitrary complexity, and are spanned on a colloidal framework. |
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