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Updated: Aug 13, 2026

Synthesis of Cyclic Polymers and Characterization of Their Diffusive Motion in the Melt State at the Single Molecule Level
Published on: September 26, 2016
Not all polymers are equal
Daniel Yan1,2,3, Jackson Guo1,4, Yun Chen1,2,3
1Department of Mechanical Engineering, Whiting School of Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA.
Abstract:
The effects of extracellular fluid viscosity on cell behavior are increasingly appreciated. Smith et al. observed that cells respond differently to two polymers that generate identical fluid viscosity, suggesting that molecular origins of viscosity shape cellular behavior. One possible explanation is that differences in interpolymer interaction arising from a polymer's charge distribution produce Newtonian vs Non-Newtonian rheology, thereby changing the interactions with cell membrane and contributing to distinct cellular responses.
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