Category Archives: Chemistry
How to study the protein corona using fluorinated nanoparticles
Author: Mónica Carril is an Ikerbasque Research Associate at the Biophysics Institute CSIC-UPV/EHU.
When nanoparticles (NPs) get in contact with biological fluids such as blood, proteins present in it will adsorb on the surface of those NPs forming what is […]
Buckyball difluoride, a single-molecule crystal
Endohedral fullerenes, also called endofullerenes, are fullerenes that have additional atoms, ions, or clusters enclosed within their inner spheres. The first lanthanum C60 complex was synthesized in 1985 and called La@C60. The @ (at sign) in the […]
Avoiding geological timescales to access low energies in bulk glasses
Common glass, used in windows or bottles, for example, is made by heating a mixture of calcium oxide (lime), sodium carbonate (soda), and silicon (IV) oxide (sand), resulting in a calcium silicate. This silicate is not a crystal but a […]
When we forget basic science. Seeking the small details out
Author: Adrián Matencio is pursuing a PhD at the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology – A, Faculty of Biology, University of Murcia, where he graduated in biotechnology.
It is time to round off this trilogy of articles about […]
A generalized approach for NMR studies of lipid–protein interactions
Author: Francisco J. Blanco is an Ikerbasque Research Professor at CIC bioGUNE
Molecular interactions in cell membranes, particularly lipid-protein interactions in their hydrophobic core, are difficult to analyse and remain poorly characterised despite high relevance in physiological and pathological processes. […]
Early research on the origin of life. The Miller experiment.
“It is often said that all the conditions for the first production of a living organism are now present, which could ever have been present.— But if (& oh what a big if) we could conceive in some warm […]
High-performance supramolecular polymer from a simple molecule
Turning simple, individual molecules into complex, interconnected materials is the core of polymer chemistry. There is currently an increasing demand for materials with sophisticated properties such as self-healing and reusable adhesivity. However, achieving polymers with such functionalities generally demands higher […]
Geometric control of noble-metal nanoparticles
Author: Roberto D’Agosta is an Ikerbasque Research Professor at ETSF and the Department of Materials Physics in the Faculty of Chemistry at the UPV/EHU in San Sebastian. Francesca Baletto, senior lecturer at King’s College London, read and commented the manuscript. […]
Solvent-induced reversible clustering of gold nanoparticles
Many methods can be used to synthesise non-molecular inorganic solids. Some solids can be prepared by a variety of routes but others, especially those that are not thermodynamically stable, may be much more difficult to prepare and may require special […]
A new theory on the early building blocks of life
From nucleic acids to proteins and sugar chains, all life is made up of polymers, large molecules made up of sequences of small units called monomers. However, how these macromolecules first appeared on the surface of Earth is still controversial. […]