Principles of self-assembly

Percec, V. et al. Principles of self-assembly of helical pores from dendritic dipeptides, Proc. Natl. Acad. Set USA., 103, 2518, 2006. 

Abstract Chemists may find it difficult to admit that their concepts and opportunities have always been strongly influenced by the available methods for characterization and analysis. Physics, has, of course, the lead when it comes to the visualization of single molecules in real space and to the detection of their specific, not ensemble-averaged properties. The challenge for chemistry is to provide molecules as objects of study which really disclose new concepts of structure and function. This chapter presents a chemical approach toward nanosciences which comprises (i) design and synthesis, (ii) immobilization, often using principles of self-assembly, (iii) visualization, e.g. by scanning probe... 

The fact that nucleosome-like particles can be reversibly reconstituted from histones and DNA, without any additional factor, exemplifies the principle of self-assembly of biological structures. The reconstituted particles have the characteristic beaded appearance of nu-... 

Figure 5.7 The well known principle of self-assembly of the DNA duplex.

The basic principle of self-assembly is based on the simultaneous coexistence of two parallel forces [85, 86], long-range repulsive forces and short-range attractive interactions. 

Self-Assembly through Micelle Formation Self-assembly at the nanoscale is deemed important to be able to produce commercially viable products and processes, since it offers a mode of bulk production with control over features such as size, shape, and morphology at the nanoscale. The basic principle of self-assembly is based on the simultaneous coexistence of two parallel forces ... 

In this review, I describe our efforts to construct interlocked structures such as rotaxanes, polyrotaxanes and molecular necklaces incorporating cucurbituril as a molecular bead by utilizing the principles of self-assembly and coordination chemistry. A key to the success of this synthesis is the high affinity of cucurbituril toward alkyl diammonium ions, which allows formation of a stable pseudorotaxane... 

Thermodynamic principles of self-assembly and the corresponding thermodynamic equations can be foimd in chaps 16,17 of [5]... 

Several groups have in recent years employed similar principles of self-assembly as shown in the examples from the previous section. 

Self-assembly is important to life processes. If self-assembly did not occur, it is certain that life could not exist " Natural selection has long been a central tenet in theories of the origin of life on earth, but it alone is not likely to have given rise to the emergent order of ie. This order can be explained by considering that nature is operating under the influence of inherent principles of self-assembly ... 

The general principles of self-assembly of amphiphilic molecules into finite-sized aggregates (micelles) are described in a number of classic books [34-36]. In our analysis of micelle formation we apply the equilibrium close association model. That is, we assume first that only one population of micelles, with an aggregation number p (number of copolymers in one aggregate), is present in the system at any given concentration of amphiphiles in the solution, or that there are no micelles at all and second, that the free energy per molecule in a micelle, Fp, exhibits a minimum at a certain value of the aggregation number, p = po. 

Since then, the research has dramatically grown and many goals have been achieved. A review reports an organized and detailed overview on theoretical aspects and basic principles of self-assembly and micellization of block copolymers in solution, together with a wide number of examples concerning the methods for the stabilization of macromolecular aggregates and their applications, mainly focused on biomedical field, in the perspective of smart nano-objects production [37]. The self-organization of block copolymers in different shapes is depicted in Fig. 1.4. 

Our findings have demonstrated that the process behind the formation of confined nanoscaled tunable hierarchical structures in kineticaUy stabilized particles is driven by the principles of self-assembly. In the absence of this driving force—a situation easily simulated by studying MLO-free dispersions—our results reveal the formation of structureless stable normal TC-in-water emulsion (Figure 7.11 A). However, as shown above, well-defined nanostructures were formed in the presence of MLO, owing to the strong self-assembly interactions of MLO with TC/water mixtures. 

Percec V, Dulcey AE, Peterca M, Hies M, Nummelin S, Sienkowska Ml, Heiney PA (2006) Principles of self-assembly of helical pores from dcaidritic dipeptides. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 103(8) 2518-2523. doi 10.1073/pnas.0509676103... 

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