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Molecular Biomimetics and Materials Design

A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Materials Science".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 November 2010) | Viewed by 57440

Special Issue Editors

Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
Interests: supramolecular chemistry; molecular recognition; molecular containers; molecular clips; glycoluril; cucurbit[n]urils; self-sorting; complex systems; supramolecular catalysis
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV), 4505 Maryland Parkway, Las Vegas, NV 89154, USA
Interests: electroactive polymer; ionic polymer-metal composite; metal hydride actuator
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Nature is unquestionably the pre-eminent chemist. One must only consider the myriad chemical reactions and non-covalent interactions that are ongoing simultaneous with exquisite control in both space and time to be awe inspired. A large number of chemists and biochemists are involved in the dissection of these complex biological systems by understanding the precise chemical behavior of each Natural component. Another segment of the chemical and biochemical community aims to apply the understanding of natural systems to create man-made molecules, materials, machines, and systems with complex structure and function. This special issue is dedicated to the chemistry of such biomimetic systems at the molecular, macromolecular, and materials levels. As such this special issue encompasses a broad range of topics of contemporary interest in chemistry.

Prof. Dr. Lyle Isaacs
Prof. Dr.Kwang J. Kim
Guest Editors

Keywords

  • biomimetic systems
  • stimuli responsive materials
  • polymers
  • molecular machines
  • self-assembly
  • supramolecular
  • systems
  • sensing systems
  • surface chemistry
  • systems chemistry
  • complexity

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Review

407 KiB  
Review
Interleukin 12 a Key Immunoregulatory Cytokine in Infection Applications
by Therwa Hamza, John B. Barnett and Bingyun Li
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2010, 11(3), 789-806; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms11030789 - 26 Feb 2010
Cited by 245 | Viewed by 29101
Abstract
Interleukin 12 (termed IL-12p70 and commonly designated IL-12) is an important immunoregulatory cytokine that is produced mainly by antigen-presenting cells. The expression of IL-12 during infection regulates innate responses and determines the type of adaptive immune responses. IL-12 induces interferon-γ (IFN-γ) production and [...] Read more.
Interleukin 12 (termed IL-12p70 and commonly designated IL-12) is an important immunoregulatory cytokine that is produced mainly by antigen-presenting cells. The expression of IL-12 during infection regulates innate responses and determines the type of adaptive immune responses. IL-12 induces interferon-γ (IFN-γ) production and triggers CD4+ T cells to differentiate into type 1 T helper (Th1) cells. Studies have suggested that IL-12 could play a vital role in treating many diseases, such as viral and bacterial infections and cancers. The unique heterodimeric structure, which IL-12 shares with its family members including IL-23, IL-27, and IL-35, has recently brought more attention to understanding the mechanisms that regulate the functions of IL-12. This article describes the structure and biological activities of IL-12 in both the innate and adaptive arms of the immune system, and discusses the applications of IL-12 in treating and preventing infections. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Molecular Biomimetics and Materials Design)
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763 KiB  
Review
Molecular Design and Functional Control of Novel Self-Oscillating Polymers
by Yusuke Hara, Shingo Maeda, Shuji Hashimoto and Ryo Yoshida
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2010, 11(2), 704-718; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms11020704 - 10 Feb 2010
Cited by 22 | Viewed by 13687
Abstract
If we could realize an autonomous polymer system driven under biological conditions by a tailor-made molecular design, human beings could create unprecedented biomimetic functions and materials such as heartbeats, autonomous peristaltic pumps, etc. In order to achieve this objective, we have investigated the [...] Read more.
If we could realize an autonomous polymer system driven under biological conditions by a tailor-made molecular design, human beings could create unprecedented biomimetic functions and materials such as heartbeats, autonomous peristaltic pumps, etc. In order to achieve this objective, we have investigated the molecular design of such a polymer system. As a result, we were the first to demonstrate a self-oscillating polymer system driven in a solution where only malonic acid existed, which could convert the chemical energy of the Belousov-Zhabotinsky (BZ) reaction into a change in the conformation of the polymer chain. To cause the self-oscillation in solution, we have attempted to construct a built-in system where the required BZ system substrates other than the organic acid are incorporated into the polymer itself. That is, the novel polymer chain incorporated the metal catalyst of the BZ reaction, a pH-control site and an oxidant supply site at the same time. As a result of introducing the pH control and oxidant supply sites into the conventional-type self-oscillating polymer chain, the novel polymer chain caused aggregation-disaggregation self-oscillations in the solution. We clarified that the period of the self-oscillation of the novel self-oscillating polymer chain was proportional to the concentration of the malonic acid. Therefore, the concentration of the malonic acid can be determined by measuring the period of the novel self-oscillating polymer solution. In this review, we introduce the detailed molecular design of the novel self-oscillating polymer chain and its self-oscillating behavior. Moreover, we report an autonomous self-oscillating polymer gel actuator that causes a bending-stretching motion under the constant conditions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Molecular Biomimetics and Materials Design)
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1781 KiB  
Review
Active Polymer Gel Actuators
by Shingo Maeda, Yusuke Hara, Ryo Yoshida and Shuji Hashimoto
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2010, 11(1), 52-66; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms11010052 - 05 Jan 2010
Cited by 53 | Viewed by 14205
Abstract
Many kinds of stimuli-responsive polymer and gels have been developed and applied to biomimetic actuators or artificial muscles. Electroactive polymers that change shape when stimulated electrically seem to be particularly promising. In all cases, however, the mechanical motion is driven by external stimuli, [...] Read more.
Many kinds of stimuli-responsive polymer and gels have been developed and applied to biomimetic actuators or artificial muscles. Electroactive polymers that change shape when stimulated electrically seem to be particularly promising. In all cases, however, the mechanical motion is driven by external stimuli, for example, reversing the direction of electric field. On the other hand, many living organisms can generate an autonomous motion without external driving stimuli like self-beating of heart muscles. Here we show a novel biomimetic gel actuator that can walk spontaneously with a wormlike motion without switching of external stimuli. The self-oscillating motion is produced by dissipating chemical energy of oscillating reaction. Although the gel is completely composed of synthetic polymer, it shows autonomous motion as if it were alive. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Molecular Biomimetics and Materials Design)
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