Self-assembling silicone-based polymers

Scientists at Tokyo Institute of Technology, RIKEN and Tohoku University have developed a silicone polymer chain that can self-assemble into a 3-D periodic structure. They achieved this by using their recently reported self-assembling ...

New fluorescent polymer makes deformation visible

A new type of polymer can show that it has changed shape. After exposure to UV light, the chain-like molecules emit a different colour of light. This opens a new pathway for research into how viruses function in a cell and ...

Immune protein C4BP potentially suitable as transporter for drugs

The protein C4BP is similar to a spider in its spatial form with eight "arms". The structure of the "spider body" has recently been described in detail by researchers from the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) ...

Cell: Protein folding via charge zippers

Membrane proteins are the "molecular machines" in biological cell envelopes. They control diverse processes, such as the transport of molecules across the lipid membrane, signal transduction, and photosynthesis. Their shape, ...

Paving the way for new single-molecule electrochemical switches

The degree of twisting of natural helical structures, such as the DNA double-helix, plays an essential role in many important biological functions. Because of their twisted architecture, artificial helices can facilitate ...

Radical predictions in polymer chemistry

Free radicals may have a bad reputation for causing ozone depletion and premature aging, but they are in fact extremely useful for making novel materials, particularly polymers. Skilled chemists can link up a wide range of ...

The Long and the Short of Acrylate Polymerization

(PhysOrg.com) -- Used in such diverse applications as adhesives, detergents, and super-absorbent disposable diapers, polyacrylates are key polymers, but the mechanisms of their formation are complex and have long been incompletely ...

Development of Euglena-based bioplastics

Researchers from AIST have developed microalga-based bioplastics mainly from constituents extracted from Euglena, a species of microalga.

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