Nature has created amazing materials during the process of evolution, inspiring scientists to studiously mimic them. Nacre is of particular interest, and it has been studied for more than half-century for its strong, stiff, and tough attributes resulting from the recognized "brick-and-mortar" (B&M) layered structure comprised of inorganic aragonite platelets and biomacromolecules. The past two ...

Phosphatidylkojibiosyl diacylglycerol functions as the acceptor of sn-glycerol 1-phosphate moieties from phosphatidylglycerol in the in vitro synthesis of the membrane lipoteichoic acid of Streptococcus faecium (S. faecalis ATCC 9790). The enzyme catalyzing this polymer-forming reaction is membrane-bound. The majority of the product is water-soluble, is excluded from Sepharose 6B, and, after lo...

Polymerization processes with high reproducibility, traceability, and nontoxic compounds are required for biomedical applications. Here an automated solvent-free polymerization of hyperbranched polyglycerol has been established on a multiple-hundred gram scale. Performed is anionic ring-opening multibranching (ROMB) slow addition glycidol. The approach avoids commonly used organic solvents duri...