Shapes Dictating Function

Control over the material s shape at the nanoscale enables further control over reactants access to the dopant, and ultimately affords a potent means of controlling function which is analogous to that parsimoniously employed by Nature to synthesize materials with myriad function with a surprisingly low number of material s building blocks. A nice illustration is offered by the extrusion catalytic polymerization of ethylene within the hexagonal channels of MCM-41 mesoporous silica doped with catalyst titanocene.36 The structure is made of amorphous silica walls spatially arranged into periodic arrays with high surface area (up to 1400 m2g 1) and mesopore volume >0.7 mLg-1. In this case, restricted conformation dictates polymerization the pore diameter... 

Successful application of chromatographic techniques relies on resolution, or the resolving power of the particular technique used. Resolution is defined by the relation of selectivity and efficiency of the chromatographic gel media (i). Selectivity is a function of the mode of separation of the gel (i.e., gel filtration, ion exchange, etc.) and efficiency is a function of the support matrix (Le., particle shape, size distribution, mechanical stability, density of interactive chemical groups, etc.). Each of the various modes of chromatographic separation have unique advantages that dictate where and when in a purification process these techniques should be used. 

The importance of single-bond conformation is nevermore apparent than for polypeptides. Here, distinct local domains involving a-helices and P-sheets (among other structures) occur commonly, and these in turn dictate overall (tertiary) stmcture of proteins and ultimately protein function. Interestingly, proteins appear to exhibit well-defined shapes, that is, exist as a single conformer or a very few closely-related conformers. This is the reason that they can be crystallized and their structures determined, and is certainly a major factor behind the ability of proteins to direct specific chemical reactions. 

In most materials selection processes, it is virtually impossible to make materials choices independent of the product shape. This includes not only the macroscopic, or bulk, shape of the object such as hammer or pressure relief valve, but also the internal or microscopic shape, such as a honeycomb structure or a continuous-fiber-reinforced composite. Shape is so important because in order to achieve it, the material must be subjected to a specific processing step. In Chapter 7, we saw how even simple objects made from a single-phase metal alloy could be formed by multiple processes such as casting or forging, and how these processing steps can affect the ultimate properties of the material. As illustrated in Figure 8.6, function dictates the choice of... 

The formation of stable secondary structures and a unique tertiary structure of proteins are dictated by the interactions between constituent amino acid residues along the polypeptide chain and by their interactions with the surrounding medium. During the process of protein folding, the hydrophobic force drives the polypeptide chain to the folded state and overcomes the entropic factors while hydrogen bonds, ion pairs, disulhde bonds, and van der Waals interactions define the shape and keep it from falling apart. The structure of a protein mainly dictates its function, and the attainment of stable conformation is essential for proper function. Hence, many methods have been developed to determine the three-dimensional structures of proteins experimentally. 

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