Hata Yuuki, Sawada Toshiki, Serizawa Takeshi
Department of Chemical Science and Engineering, School of Materials and Chemical Technology, Tokyo Institute of Technology, 2-12-1-H121 Ookayama, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 152-8550, Japan.
J Mater Chem B. 2018 Oct 28;6(40):6344-6359. doi: 10.1039/c8tb02201a. Epub 2018 Sep 26.
Macromolecular crowding refers to intracellular environments where various macromolecules, including proteins and nucleic acids, are present at high total concentrations. Its influence on biological processes has been investigated using a highly concentrated in vitro solution of water-soluble polymers as a model. Studies have revealed significant effects of macromolecular crowding on the thermodynamic equilibria and dynamics of biomolecular self-assembly in vivo. Recently, macromolecular crowding has attracted materials scientists, especially those in bio-related areas, as a tool to control molecular/colloidal self-assembly. Macromolecular crowding has been exploited to control the structure of supramolecular materials, assemble nanomaterials, and improve the performance of polymeric materials. Furthermore, nanostructured materials have been shown to be an interesting alternative to water-soluble polymers for creating crowded environments for controlled self-assembly. In this review article, we summarize recent progress in research on macromolecular crowding for controlled self-assembly in bio-related materials chemistry.
大分子拥挤效应是指细胞内环境，其中包括蛋白质和核酸在内的各种大分子以高总浓度存在。人们使用高浓度的水溶性聚合物体外溶液作为模型，研究了其对生物过程的影响。研究表明，大分子拥挤效应在体内对生物分子自组装的热力学平衡和动力学具有显著影响。最近，大分子拥挤效应作为一种控制分子/胶体自组装的工具，吸引了材料科学家，尤其是生物相关领域的科学家。大分子拥挤效应已被用于控制超分子材料的结构、组装纳米材料以及改善聚合物材料的性能。此外，纳米结构材料已被证明是水溶性聚合物的一种有趣替代品，可用于创建用于可控自组装的拥挤环境。在这篇综述文章中，我们总结了生物相关材料化学中用于可控自组装的大分子拥挤效应研究的最新进展。
