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Biological Soft Materials
Author(s) -
Hamley Ian W.,
Castelletto Valeria
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
angewandte chemie international edition
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.831
H-Index - 550
eISSN - 1521-3773
pISSN - 1433-7851
DOI - 10.1002/anie.200603922
Subject(s) - soft matter , nanotechnology , supramolecular chemistry , vesicle , soft materials , dna condensation , polymer science , materials science , biological materials , chemistry , colloid , membrane , engineering , biochemical engineering , organic chemistry , molecule , biochemistry , transfection , gene
With one or two exceptions, biological materials are “soft”, meaning that they combine viscous and elastic elements. This mechanical behavior results from self‐assembled supramolecular structures that are stabilized by noncovalent interactions. It is an ongoing and profound challenge to understand the self‐organization of biological materials. In many cases, concepts can be imported from soft‐matter physics and chemistry, which have traditionally focused on materials such as colloids, polymers, surfactants, and liquid crystals. Using these ideas, it is possible to gain a new perspective on phenomena as diverse as DNA condensation, protein and peptide fibrillization, lipid partitioning in rafts, vesicle fusion and budding, and others, as discussed in this selective review of recent highlights from the literature.