Synthetic Polymers with High Order Structures

Design of Synthetic Polymers with High Order Structures 

In contrast, through eons of evolution Nature has come up with many biopolymers that can combine important mechanical properties including strength, toughness, and elasticity. For example, sUks (Oroudjev et al. 2002), cell adhesion proteins (Law et al. 2003), and connective proteins existing in both soft and hard tissues such as muscle (Kellermayer et al. 1997 Rief, Gautel, et al. 1997 Marszalek et al. 1999 Li et al. 2000), seasheUs (Smith et al. 1999), and bone (Thompson et al. 2001) 

Molecular Recognition and Polymers Control of Polymer Structure and Self-Assembly. Edited by V. Rotello and S. Thayumanavan Copyright 2008 John Wiley Sons, Inc. 

Biomimetic Design of Oiigomers with High Order Structures 

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The 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidinoxyl radical (TEMPO) was first prepared in 1960 by Lebedev and Kazarnovskii by oxidation of its piperidine precursor.18 The steric hindrance of the NO bond in TEMPO makes it a highly stable radical species, resistant to air and moisture. Paramagnetic TEMPO radicals can be employed as powerful spin probes for elucidating the structure and dynamics of both synthetic and biopolymers (e.g., proteins and DNA) by ESR spectroscopy.19 Unlike solid-phase 1H-NMR where magic angle spinning is required in order to reduce the anisotropic effects in the solid-phase environment, solid-phase ESR spectroscopy can be conducted without specialized equipment. Thus, we conducted comparative ESR studies of various polymers with persistent radical labels, and we also determined rotational correlation times as a function of... 

In contrast with synthetic polymers, proteins are characterized by very high levels of structural order. Unlike synthetic polymers, proteins are characterized by absolutely uniform chain lengths and well-defined monomer sequences (primary structure) [3]. These features are two of the requirements that enable folding of linear polypeptide chains into structurally well-defined and functional proteins. Proteins play an important role in numerous processes in biology, e.g. as carriers for small molecules and ions (examples are presented in Chapter 2.2), as catalysts, or as muscle fibers, and their exquisite properties are closely related to their well-defined three-dimensional structure [3]. 

Ordered macroporous materials (OMMs) are a new family of porous materials that can be synthesized by using colloidal microspheies as the template. - The most unique characteristics of OMMs are their uniformly sized macropores arranged at micrometer length scale in three dimensions. Colloidal microspheres (latex polymer or silica) can self assemble into ordered arrays (synthetic opals) with a three-dimensional crystalline structure. The interstices in the colloidal crystals are infiltrated with a precursor material such as metal alkoxide. Upon removal of the template, a skeleton of the infiltrated material with a three-dimensionally ordered macroporous structure (inverse opals) is obtained. Because of the 30 periodicity of the materials, these structures have been extensively studied for photonic applications. In this paper, the synthesis and characterization of highly ordered macroporous materials with various compositions and functionalities (silica, organosilica, titana, titanosilicate, alumina) are presented. The application potential of OMMS in adsorption/separation is analyzed and discussed. 

Liquid polymers (at ambient temperature) are in general macromolecules with a relatively low molecular weight, many of them being in fact oligomers. Some liquid polymers are utilized as synthetic oils. Certain polymers can form liquid crystals in other words they can have an ordered structure while being in liquid state (either melted or in a solution). The orientation of certain polymeric molecules in liquid state such that the properties of the material are anisotropic is possible. Polymer liquid crystals have practical applications, and solution of liquid crystal polymers can be used for extruding fibers that have a highly crystalline structure after solvent elimination. 

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