COLL 454 |
| Zhibin Guan, Jason Roland, and Jane Z. Bai. Department of Chemistry, University of California, 516 Rowland Hall, Irvine, CA 92697-2025 |
| Inspiration from natural biopolymers is used in our lab to design macromolecular materials having precise secondary and nanostructures for advanced mechanical properties. Modular domain structures are commonly seen in natural biopolymers such as adhesion proteins and skeletal muscle protein, titin, which assume important mechanical functions in biological systems. The remarkable combined strength and toughness of titin was proposed to derive from its modular structure comprising a linear array of domains, in which each domain is held together by secondary forces. We have synthesized titin-mimicking modular polymers having multiple domain nanostructures by using 2-ureido-4-pyrimidone (UPy) to direct the formation of loops. Following the first, second-generation UPy-containing monomer synthesis, this presentation will discuss about the synthesis and studies of our third-generation Upy-containing monomers and polymers. The mechanical properties of the created polymers are studied both at single-molecule level using atomic force microscopy (AFM) and bulk level using Instron. Single-molecule force-extension experiments using AFM showed similar sawtooth patterns as observed in titin. This suggests the sequential unfolding of loops along polymer chains. Systematic studies are currently underway to understand the fundamental relationship between polymer nanostructures and polymer physical properties. |
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“Smart” Polymers on Surfaces and Colloids
2:00 PM-4:40 PM, Wednesday, March 31, 2004 Marriott -- Grand Ballroom J, Oral
Division of Colloid and Surface Chemistry |