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Molecular Self-assembly
In chemistry and materials science, molecular self-assembly is the process by which molecules adopt a defined arrangement without guidance or management from an outside source. There are two types of self-assembly: intramolecular and intermolecular. Commonly, the term ''molecular self-assembly'' refers to the former, while the latter is more commonly called ''folding''. Supramolecular systems Molecular self-assembly is a key concept in supramolecular chemistry. This is because assembly of molecules in such systems is directed through non-covalent interactions (e.g., hydrogen bonding, metal coordination, hydrophobic forces, van der Waals forces, pi-stacking interactions, and/or electrostatic) as well as electromagnetic interactions. Common examples include the formation of colloids, biomolecular condensates, micelles, vesicles, liquid crystal phases, and Langmuir monolayers by surfactant molecules. Further examples of supramolecular assemblies demonstrate that a variety of d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
NTCDI AFM2a
Naphthalenetetracarboxylic diimide (NTCDI) is a solid organic compound and one of the simplest naphthalenediimides (NDIs). NTCDI is produced from the parent naphthalene via an intermediate compound naphthalenetetracarboxylic dianhydride. Properties NTCDI is redox-active, forming stable radical anions near -1.10 V vs. ferrocenium, Fc/Fc+. Its ability to accept electrons reflects the presence of an extended Conjugated system, conjugated ring system and the electron withdrawing groups (carbonyl centers). NDI is used in supramolecular chemistry owing to its tendency to form charge-transfer complexes with crown ethers, e.g., to give rotaxanes and catenanes. As another consequence of their planar structure and electron-acceptor properties, NDIs intercalation (biochemistry), intercalate into DNA. It is also suitable for fabrication of soft electronic devices. References {{reflist Naphthalenes ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Biomolecular Condensate
In biochemistry, biomolecular condensates are a class of membrane-less organelles and organelle subdomains, which carry out specialized functions within the cell. Unlike many organelles, biomolecular condensate composition is not controlled by a bounding membrane. Instead, condensates can form and maintain organization through a range of different processes, the most well-known of which is phase separation of proteins, RNA and other biopolymers into either colloidal emulsions, gels, liquid crystals, solid crystals or aggregates within cells. History Micellar theory The micellar theory of Carl Nägeli was developed from his detailed study of starch granules in 1858. Amorphous substances such as starch and cellulose were proposed to consist of building blocks, packed in a loosely crystalline array to form what he later termed “micelles”. Water could penetrate between the micelles, and new micelles could form in the interstices between old micelles. The swelling of st ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cell Membrane
The cell membrane (also known as the plasma membrane (PM) or cytoplasmic membrane, and historically referred to as the plasmalemma) is a biological membrane that separates and protects the interior of all cells from the outside environment (the extracellular space). The cell membrane consists of a lipid bilayer, made up of two layers of phospholipids with cholesterols (a lipid component) interspersed between them, maintaining appropriate membrane fluidity at various temperatures. The membrane also contains membrane proteins, including integral proteins that span the membrane and serve as membrane transporters, and peripheral proteins that loosely attach to the outer (peripheral) side of the cell membrane, acting as enzymes to facilitate interaction with the cell's environment. Glycolipids embedded in the outer lipid layer serve a similar purpose. The cell membrane controls the movement of substances in and out of cells and organelles, being selectively permeable to ions a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lipid
Lipids are a broad group of naturally-occurring molecules which includes fats, waxes, sterols, fat-soluble vitamins (such as vitamins A, D, E and K), monoglycerides, diglycerides, phospholipids, and others. The functions of lipids include storing energy, signaling, and acting as structural components of cell membranes. Lipids have applications in the cosmetic and food industries, and in nanotechnology. Lipids may be broadly defined as hydrophobic or amphiphilic small molecules; the amphiphilic nature of some lipids allows them to form structures such as vesicles, multilamellar/unilamellar liposomes, or membranes in an aqueous environment. Biological lipids originate entirely or in part from two distinct types of biochemical subunits or "building-blocks": ketoacyl and isoprene groups. Using this approach, lipids may be divided into eight categories: fatty acyls, glycerolipids, glycerophospholipids, sphingolipids, saccharolipids, and polyketides (derived from condensati ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cell (biology)
The cell is the basic structural and functional unit of life forms. Every cell consists of a cytoplasm enclosed within a membrane, and contains many biomolecules such as proteins, DNA and RNA, as well as many small molecules of nutrients and metabolites.Cell Movements and the Shaping of the Vertebrate Body in Chapter 21 of Molecular Biology of the Cell '' fourth edition, edited by Bruce Alberts (2002) published by Garland Science. The Alberts text discusses how the "cellular building blocks" move to shape developing embryos. It is also common to describe small molecules such as ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Macromolecular Assembly
The term macromolecular assembly (MA) refers to massive chemical structures such as viruses and non-biologic nanoparticles, cellular organelles and membranes and ribosomes, etc. that are complex mixtures of polypeptide, polynucleotide, polysaccharide or other polymeric macromolecules. They are generally of more than one of these types, and the mixtures are defined spatially (i.e., with regard to their chemical shape), and with regard to their underlying chemical composition and structure. Macromolecules are found in living and nonliving things, and are composed of many hundreds or thousands of atoms held together by covalent bonds; they are often characterized by repeating units (i.e., they are polymers). Assemblies of these can likewise be biologic or non-biologic, though the MA term is more commonly applied in biology, and the term supramolecular assembly is more often applied in non-biologic contexts (e.g., in supramolecular chemistry and nanotechnology). MAs of macromolecules ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Molecular Borromean Rings
In chemistry, molecular Borromean rings are an example of a mechanically-interlocked molecular architecture in which three macrocycles are interlocked in such a way that breaking any macrocycle allows the others to dissociate. They are the smallest examples of Borromean rings. The synthesis of molecular Borromean rings was reported in 2004 by the group of J. Fraser Stoddart. The so-called Borromeate is made up of three interpenetrated macrocycles formed through templated self assembly as complexes of zinc. The synthesis of the macrocyclic systems involves self-assembles of two organic building blocks: 2,6-diformylpyridine (an aromatic compound with two aldehyde groups positioned '' ortho'' to the nitrogen atom of the pyridine ring) and a symmetric diamine containing a ''meta''-substituted 2,2'-bipyridine group. Zinc acetate is added as the template for the reaction, resulting in one zinc cation in each of the six pentacoordinate complexation sites. Trifluoroacetic acid (TF ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Borromean Ring
In mathematics, the Borromean rings are three simple closed curves in three-dimensional space that are topologically linked and cannot be separated from each other, but that break apart into two unknotted and unlinked loops when any one of the three is cut or removed. Most commonly, these rings are drawn as three circles in the plane, in the pattern of a Venn diagram, alternatingly crossing over and under each other at the points where they cross. Other triples of curves are said to form the Borromean rings as long as they are topologically equivalent to the curves depicted in this drawing. The Borromean rings are named after the Italian House of Borromeo, who used the circular form of these rings as a coat of arms, but designs based on the Borromean rings have been used in many cultures, including by the Norsemen and in Japan. They have been used in Christian symbolism as a sign of the Trinity, and in modern commerce as the logo of Ballantine beer, giving them the alternative n ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Topology
In mathematics, topology (from the Greek language, Greek words , and ) is concerned with the properties of a mathematical object, geometric object that are preserved under Continuous function, continuous Deformation theory, deformations, such as Stretch factor, stretching, Twist (mathematics), twisting, crumpling, and bending; that is, without closing holes, opening holes, tearing, gluing, or passing through itself. A topological space is a set (mathematics), set endowed with a structure, called a ''Topology (structure), topology'', which allows defining continuous deformation of subspaces, and, more generally, all kinds of continuity (mathematics), continuity. Euclidean spaces, and, more generally, metric spaces are examples of a topological space, as any distance or metric defines a topology. The deformations that are considered in topology are homeomorphisms and homotopy, homotopies. A property that is invariant under such deformations is a topological property. Basic exampl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Supramolecular Assemblies
In chemistry, a supramolecular assembly is a complex of molecules held together by noncovalent bonds. While a supramolecular assembly can be simply composed of two molecules (e.g., a DNA double helix or an inclusion compound), or a defined number of stoichiometrically interacting molecules within a quaternary complex, it is more often used to denote larger complexes composed of indefinite numbers of molecules that form sphere-, rod-, or sheet-like species. Colloids, liquid crystals, biomolecular condensates, micelles, liposomes and biological membranes are examples of supramolecular assemblies, and their realm of study is known as supramolecular chemistry. The dimensions of supramolecular assemblies can range from nanometers to micrometers. Thus they allow access to nanoscale objects using a bottom-up approach in far fewer steps than a single molecule of similar dimensions. The process by which a supramolecular assembly forms is called molecular self-assembly. Some try to dist ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Surfactant
Surfactants are chemical compounds that decrease the surface tension between two liquids, between a gas and a liquid, or interfacial tension between a liquid and a solid. Surfactants may act as detergents, wetting agents, emulsifiers, foaming agents, or dispersants. The word "surfactant" is a blend of ''surface-active agent'', coined . Agents that increase surface tension are "surface active" in the literal sense but are not called surfactants as their effect is opposite to the common meaning. A common example of surface tension increase is salting out: by adding an inorganic salt to an aqueous solution of a weakly polar substance, the substance will precipitate. The substance may itself be a surfactant – this is one of the reasons why many surfactants are ineffective in sea water. Composition and structure Surfactants are usually organic compounds that are amphiphilic, meaning each molecule contains both a hydrophilic "water-seeking" group (the ''head''), and a hydro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Monolayer
A monolayer is a single, closely packed layer of atoms, molecules, or cells. In some cases it is referred to as a self-assembled monolayer. Monolayers of layered crystals like graphene and molybdenum disulfide are generally called 2D materials. Chemistry A Langmuir monolayer or insoluble monolayer is a one-molecule thick layer of an insoluble organic material spread onto an aqueous subphase in a Langmuir-Blodgett trough. Traditional compounds used to prepare Langmuir monolayers are amphiphilic materials that possess a hydrophilic headgroup and a hydrophobic tail. Since the 1980s a large number of other materials have been employed to produce Langmuir monolayers, some of which are semi-amphiphilic, including polymeric, ceramic or metallic nanoparticles and macromolecules such as polymers. Langmuir monolayers are extensively studied for the fabrication of Langmuir-Blodgett film (LB films), which are formed by transferred monolayers on a solid substrate. A Gibbs monolayer or ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
