News Release 04-101
The Hole Story
University of Pennsylvania chemists create artificial molecular "pores"
The University of Pennsylvania group has discovered a variety of small, protein-like molecules ( ...
August 11, 2004
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Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania, supported in part by the National Science Foundation (NSF), have created the first artificial analogs of nature's molecular "pores"--the tiny, hollow channels that perform a multitude of essential tasks in living cells.
Writing in the August 12, 2004, issue of the journal Nature, Penn chemist Virgil Percec and his colleagues note that natural pores are used by the cell to transport certain molecules across the cell membrane, as well as to generate chemical energy, guide the shape of newly-made proteins, and even puncture holes in the cell walls of hostile bacteria. To create the new artificial pores, the authors add, they developed a series of small, protein-like molecules that assemble themselves into molecular channels spontaneously. Potential applications range from the extraction of fresh water from seawater, to an entirely new class of antibiotics.
For details, see the University of Pennsylvania press release.
-NSF-
Media Contacts
M. Mitchell Waldrop, NSF, (703) 292-7752, email: mwaldrop@nsf.gov
Greg Lester, University of Pennsylvania, (215) 573-6604, email: glester@pobox.upenn.edu
Program Contacts
Andrew Lovinger, NSF, (703) 292-4933, email: alovinge@nsf.gov
Principal Investigators
Virgil Percec, University of Pennsylvania, (215) 573-5527, email: percec@sas.upenn.edu
Related Websites
Virgil Percec's research: http://perceco2.chem.upenn.edu/~percec/research.html
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