Numerous self-assembling molecules have been synthesized aiming at mimicking both the structural and dynamic properties found in living systems. Here we show the application of hydrogen/deuterium exchange (HDX) mass spectrometry (MS) to unravel the nanoscale organization and the structural dynamics of synthetic supramolecular polymers in water. We select benzene-1,3,5-tricarboxamide (BTA) deriv...

Supramolecular polymers constructed by orthogonal self-assembly based on host-guest and metal-ligand interactions are attracting increasing attention currently because of their interesting properties and potential applications. Host-guest interactions impart these polymers with good selectivity and convenient enviro-responsiveness, and metal-ligand interactions endow them with various coordinat...

Supramolecular polymers are linear chains of low molar mass monomers held together by reversible and directional non-covalent interactions, which can form gels or highly viscous solutions if the self-assembled chains are sufficiently long and rigid. The viscosity of these solutions can be controlled by adding monofunctional compounds, which interact with the chain extremities: chain stoppers. W...

Cyclic brush polymers represent an exciting new macromolecular topology. For the first time, this new topology has been combined with metallo-supramolecular interactions to construct novel cyclic brush polymers. Here, ring-expansion metathesis polymerization was used to synthesize a universal cyclic template with a polynorbornene backbone, which was further modified with the metal-chelating syn...

New synthetic methodologies for the formation of block copolymers have revolutionized polymer science within the last two decades. However, the formation of supramolecular block copolymers composed of alternating sequences of larger block segments has not been realized yet. Here we show by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), 2D NMR and optical spectroscopy that two different perylene bisimi...

In the present study, a biopolymer (cellulose, rice starch or zein protein) was dissolved in the ionic liquid (1-butyl-3methylimidazolium chloride) and co-solvent (dimethyl sulfoxide) mixture (1:1 weight ratio), and then blended with the agar solution, followed by gelation at low temperature. The blends were soaked and shaken in 250 mL distilled water, washed and freeze-dried. The agar/biopolym...

The application of renewable raw materials encourages research in the biopolymers area. The Poly(Lacticco-Glycolic Acid)/Poly(Isoprene) (PLGA/IR) blend combines biocompatibility for application in the health field with excellent mechanical properties. The blend was obtained by solubilization of polymers in organic solvents. To investigate the polymer thermochemical properties, FTIR and DSC were...

Transesterification mechanisms and rate in blends of polycarbonate (PC) and random liquid crystalline polyester copoly(oxybenzoate-p-terephthalate) at molar ratio 40/60 (P46) were studied through a five-component diad analysis and with 13C and 1H-13C nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. It was found that the ester-ester interchange in the two polymers took place within 15 min when the blend...

In a replicated 4 x 4 Latin square design with 4-wk periods, we used 12 multiparous Holstein cows averaging 83 d postpartum to compare corn distillers grains (CDG) versus a blend (BLEND) of other protein sources with CDG (fish meal and soybean meal), and to determine the effectiveness of ruminally protected lysine and methionine (RPLM) in improving the utilization of CDG as a protein supplement...