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Formation of Ordered Biomolecular Structures by the Self-assembly of Short Peptides
Published on: November 21, 2013
Molecule-mimetic chemistry and mesoscale self-assembly
1Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard University, 12 Oxford Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA.
Abstract:
Molecules are structured aggregates of atoms joined by chemical bonds; crystals are aggregates of molecules, interacting covalently or noncovalently. The work described in this Account uses molecules, crystals, and other forms of atomic/molecular matter to suggest principles that can be used in generating structured aggregates of millimeter-scale components, interacting through capillary interactions. The properties of these aggregates--that is, their "chemistry"--mimic aspects of the chemistry of molecules.
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