Recipe for a ’Shake Gel’
Chemists and computer scientists are using a special facility at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to scale molecules up for people-sized interactions. Using chemical data, NIST software, special eyewear, and floor-to-ceiling display screens, they create giant three-dimensional molecules that move. Molecular behavior can be seen and understood in minutes instead of the weeks required using traditional techniques.
NIST scientists and collaborators used the 3D facility to study “smart gels,” inexpensive materials that expand or contract in response to external stimuli. For example, a “smart” artificial pancreas might release insulin inside the body in response to high sugar levels. Other applications may include exotic foods, cosmetics or sensors. But scientists need to better understand the molecular behavior of the gels before they can optimize them for specific products.
The NIST team is studying a category of these materials called shake gels. Mixtures of clays and polymers, these materials firm up into gels when shaken, and then gradually relax again to liquids. In a shock absorber, for instance, such materials would generally be liquid but would stiffen into a gel when the car drove over bumps or potholes.
The visualization facility helped the scientists see that it is the polymer’s oxygen atoms, not the hydrogen atoms as previously thought, that attach to the clay. The team’s theoretical calculations also showed that water binds to the clay surfaces in a perpendicular arrangement. This may help create the firmness of the gel. Described in the Aug. 28 issue of Journal of Physical Chemistry B, the work is sponsored by Kraft Foods and involves scientists from NIST, Los Alamos National Laboratory and Harvard University.
Media Contact
More Information:
http://www.nist.gov/public_affairs/techbeat/tb2003_0827.htm#uvAll latest news from the category: Information Technology
Here you can find a summary of innovations in the fields of information and data processing and up-to-date developments on IT equipment and hardware.
This area covers topics such as IT services, IT architectures, IT management and telecommunications.
Newest articles
New anti-cancer agent works without oxygen
Why tumors shrink but don’t disappear. “As tumors grow very quickly, consume a lot of oxygen and their vascular growth can’t necessarily keep pace, they often contain areas that are…
First blueprint of the human spliceosome revealed
Researchers detail the inner workings of the most complex and intricate molecular machine in human biology. Researchers at the Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG) in Barcelona have created the first…
A paper-aluminum combo for strong, sustainable packaging
Takeout containers get your favorite noodles from the restaurant to your dining table (or couch) without incident, but they are nearly impossible to recycle if they are made from foil-lined…