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Identifying the origin of local flexibility in a carbohydrate polymer.

Authors :
Anggara K
Zhu Y
Fittolani G
Yu Y
Tyrikos-Ergas T
Delbianco M
Rauschenbach S
Abb S
Seeberger PH
Kern K
Source :
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America [Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A] 2021 Jun 08; Vol. 118 (23).
Publication Year :
2021

Abstract

Correlating the structures and properties of a polymer to its monomer sequence is key to understanding how its higher hierarchy structures are formed and how its macroscopic material properties emerge. Carbohydrate polymers, such as cellulose and chitin, are the most abundant materials found in nature whose structures and properties have been characterized only at the submicrometer level. Here, by imaging single-cellulose chains at the nanoscale, we determine the structure and local flexibility of cellulose as a function of its sequence (primary structure) and conformation (secondary structure). Changing the primary structure by chemical substitutions and geometrical variations in the secondary structure allow the chain flexibility to be engineered at the single-linkage level. Tuning local flexibility opens opportunities for the bottom-up design of carbohydrate materials.<br />Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing interest.<br /> (Copyright © 2021 the Author(s). Published by PNAS.)

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
1091-6490
Volume :
118
Issue :
23
Database :
MEDLINE
Journal :
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
34074784
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2102168118