Polymer Physics

Self-regenerating giant hyaluronan polymer brushes

Nature Communications ◽

10.1038/s41467-019-13440-7 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 10 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Wenbin Wei ◽

Jessica L. Faubel ◽

Hemaa Selvakumar ◽

Daniel T. Kovari ◽

Joanna Tsao ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Wound Healing ◽

Polymer Brushes ◽

Functional Materials ◽

Polymer Physics ◽

High Density ◽

Hyaluronan Synthase ◽

Dynamic Interface ◽

Continuous Source

AbstractTailoring interfaces with polymer brushes is a commonly used strategy to create functional materials for numerous applications. Existing methods are limited in brush thickness, the ability to generate high-density brushes of biopolymers, and the potential for regeneration. Here we introduce a scheme to synthesize ultra-thick regenerating hyaluronan polymer brushes using hyaluronan synthase. The platform provides a dynamic interface with tunable brush heights that extend up to 20 microns – two orders of magnitude thicker than standard brushes. The brushes are easily sculpted into micropatterned landscapes by photo-deactivation of the enzyme. Further, they provide a continuous source of megadalton hyaluronan or they can be covalently-stabilized to the surface. Stabilized brushes exhibit superb resistance to biofilms, yet are locally digested by fibroblasts. This brush technology provides opportunities in a range of arenas including regenerating tailorable biointerfaces for implants, wound healing or lubrication as well as fundamental studies of the glycocalyx and polymer physics.

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A Polymer Physics Model for Epigenetic Control of Chromatin Compaction

Biophysical Journal ◽

10.1016/j.bpj.2017.11.3080 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 114 (3) ◽

pp. 563a ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Quinn MacPherson ◽

Sarah Sandholtz ◽

Andrew Spakowitz

Keyword(s):

Polymer Physics ◽

Chromatin Compaction ◽

Epigenetic Control ◽

Physics Model

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Does quantum magic impinge on polymer physics?

Polymer Engineering & Science ◽

10.1002/pen.760340405 ◽

1994 ◽

Vol 34 (4) ◽

pp. 260-265 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

John W. S. Hearle

Keyword(s):

Polymer Physics

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AIP Physics Desk Reference ◽

10.1007/978-1-4757-3805-6_22 ◽

2003 ◽

pp. 656-692 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Stephen Z. D. Cheng

Keyword(s):

Polymer Physics

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Scaling in Polymer Physics

Scaling Phenomena in Disordered Systems ◽

10.1007/978-1-4757-1402-9_42 ◽

1991 ◽

pp. 483-490

Author(s):

R. C. Ball

Keyword(s):

Polymer Physics

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The Statistical Segment Length of DNA: Opportunities for Biomechanical Modeling in Polymer Physics and Next-Generation Genomics

Journal of Biomechanical Engineering ◽

10.1115/1.4037790 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 140 (2) ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Kevin D. Dorfman

Keyword(s):

Genome Mapping ◽

Persistence Length ◽

Magnetic Tweezers ◽

Polymer Physics ◽

Polymer Dynamics ◽

Segment Length ◽

Next Generation ◽

Bending Energy ◽

Force Microscopy ◽

Statistical Segment

The development of bright bisintercalating dyes for deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) in the 1990s, most notably YOYO-1, revolutionized the field of polymer physics in the ensuing years. These dyes, in conjunction with modern molecular biology techniques, permit the facile observation of polymer dynamics via fluorescence microscopy and thus direct tests of different theories of polymer dynamics. At the same time, they have played a key role in advancing an emerging next-generation method known as genome mapping in nanochannels. The effect of intercalation on the bending energy of DNA as embodied by a change in its statistical segment length (or, alternatively, its persistence length) has been the subject of significant controversy. The precise value of the statistical segment length is critical for the proper interpretation of polymer physics experiments and controls the phenomena underlying the aforementioned genomics technology. In this perspective, we briefly review the model of DNA as a wormlike chain and a trio of methods (light scattering, optical or magnetic tweezers, and atomic force microscopy (AFM)) that have been used to determine the statistical segment length of DNA. We then outline the disagreement in the literature over the role of bisintercalation on the bending energy of DNA, and how a multiscale biomechanical approach could provide an important model for this scientifically and technologically relevant problem.

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