Graduate School of Advanced Science and Technology, Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, 1-1 Asahidai, Nomi, Ishikawa, 923-1292, Japan.
Macromol Rapid Commun. 2022 Jun;43(11):e2200163. doi: 10.1002/marc.202200163. Epub 2022 Apr 9.
The evaporative interface on polysaccharides has evolved to form hierarchical structures with moisture sensitivity to enable organisms to live in drying environments. Here, the discovery of the morphological instability of polysaccharides, especially the reversible self-assembly/disassembly between micron-fibers and microparticles in response to changes in aquatic environments, is reported. This is similar but different to the dynamic instability observed in cytoskeletal proteins, in terms of an accompanying the polymeric deformation. The formation of the polymeric fibers containing crystalline structures can be flexibly controlled by controlling the polymer concentration and salt concentration in aqueous mixtures. Moreover, the microparticles having crosslinking points in the interior acquire the ability to retain a larger number of water molecules in drying environments and behave as super-moisturizing materials.
多糖的蒸发界面已经进化形成具有水分敏感性的分层结构，使生物体能够在干燥的环境中生存。在这里，报道了多糖的形态不稳定性的发现，特别是微米纤维和微粒之间在水环境变化下的可逆自组装/解组装。这与细胞骨架蛋白中观察到的动态不稳定性相似但不同，伴随着聚合物的变形。通过控制水混合物中的聚合物浓度和盐浓度，可以灵活控制含有结晶结构的聚合物纤维的形成。此外，内部具有交联点的微粒在干燥环境中获得保留更多水分子的能力，并表现为超保湿材料。
