Methods are being developed to turn fuzzy rods into novel materials, such as ultralight-oriented aerogels. A new molecular architecture results when fuzzy rods are linked to a central core to make a Star Rod. These polymers are being developed for both fundamental and practical reasons. They can provide insight into the dynamics of crowded suspensions of regular rodlike polymers, i.e., the approach to liquid crystallinity. Potential practical applications include drug delivery, conformation-induced viscoelasticity transitions, and nonlinear optical materials.
Many polymers undergo reversible gelation in poor solvents.
We are using video and confocal microscopy in order to study the very fragile network structure that supports the gel. Traditionally, these phase separations are studied by light scattering, but in some rodlike polymer gels this is not possible, due to extreme turbidity. The techniques of polymer and materials science are often applied to, and frequently developed within, the biopolymer community. We enjoy collaborations with faculty at LSU and other universities in such areas as protein-nucleic acid interactions and the mechanism by which lytic peptides destroy membranes. All Rights Reserved.