Synthesis, Characterization and Processing of Rigid Polypeptides of Unusual Geometry

多肽将被合成为“模糊棒”和“星棒”。毛状杆有僵硬的脊椎，但有许多灵活的侧链。它们是已知的最大、最坚硬的材料，在溶液中和加热时形成液晶。这一点加上较窄的尺寸分布，使得它们非常适合建立熔化棒的流动特性，这是一个目标。多才多艺的侧链化学也可以带来全新的材料。例如，液晶的交联会产生共价模糊棒状网络，导致定向的聚合物气凝胶。通过将几个模糊的棒连接到中心核心制成的星棒在溶液和熔体中都显示出不同寻常的结构。它们不是真的僵硬，但手臂几乎是僵硬的。更均匀的手臂分布是研究的主要目标。星棒将阐明聚合物溶液的重要特征，例如棒中接近半稀条件的方法。他们还将有助于理解熔化棒。这种几乎完全被忽视的大分子结构也可能促进分子水平复合材料、非线性光学材料、双向取向薄膜的生产，也许还有微马达、具有自动温度补偿的材料或光学开关的生产。

Polypeptides will be synthesized as "fuzzy rods" and "star rods". Fuzzy rods have a stiff backbone but many flexible sidechains. They are the largest, most rigid materials known to form liquid crystals in solution and upon heating. This plus a narrow size distribution makes them ideally suited to establish the flow characteristics of molten rods, which is one objective. The versatile sidechain chemistry can also lead to completely new materials. For example, crosslinking of the liquid crystals will yield covalent fuzzy rod networks, leading to oriented polymeric aerogels. Star rods made by attaching several fuzzy rods to a central core exhibit unusual structures in both solution and melt. They are not really rigid, but the arms are nearly so. More uniform arm distribution is a major objective of the research. Star rods will elucidate important features of polymer solutions, such as the approach to semidilute conditions in rods. They will also contribute to the understanding of molten rods. This almost completely ignored macromolecular architecture may also facilitate production of molecular level composites, nonlinear optical materials, biaxially oriented films, and perhaps micromotors, materials with automatic temperature compensation, or optical switches.