<< to read patterns on long chains of molecules to understand and predict behavior of disordered strands of proteins and polymers. >>
<< The thing that I think is exciting about this work is that we're taking inspiration from a biological system, (..) The typical picture of a protein shows that it folds into a very precise structure. This system, however, is based around intrinsically disordered proteins. >> Charles Sing.
Researchers can now predict properties of disordered polymers. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Jun 3, 2019.
https://m.phys.org/news/2019-06-properties-disordered-polymers.html
<< Charged polymers are ubiquitous in biological systems because electrostatic interactions can drive complicated structure formation and respond to environmental parameters such as ionic strength and pH. In these systems, function emerges from sophisticated molecular design; for example, intrinsically disordered proteins leverage specific sequences of monomeric charges to control the formation and function of intracellular compartments known as membraneless organelles. >>
Tyler K. Lytle, Li-Wei Chang, et al. Designing Electrostatic Interactions via Polyelectrolyte Monomer Sequence. ACS Cent. Sci.201954709-718. doi: 10.1021/acscentsci.9b00087 Apr 5, 2019.