From molecule to object: Largest synthetic structure with molecular precision
Tuesday, January 4, 2011 - 10:30
in Physics & Chemistry
(PhysOrg.com) -- Organic chemists have always been trying to imitate biology. Although it is possible to make many molecules that imitate biomolecules in terms of structure and function, it remains a challenge to attain the size and form of large biomolecules. An international team led by A. Dieter Schluter at the ETH Zurich (Switzerland) has now introduced a branched polymer that resembles the tobacco mosaic virus in size and cylindrical form. As the researchers outline in the journal Angewandte Chemie, this is the largest synthetic macromolecule with defined shape and atomic structure reported to date.