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Polymers

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In BigSMILES, polymeric fragments are represented by a list of repeating units enclosed by curly brackets. The chemical structures of the repeating units are encoded using normal SMILES syntax, but with additional bonding descriptors that specify how different repeating units are connected to form polymers. This simple design of syntax would enable the encoding of macromolecules over a wide range ...

Notation system allows scientists to communicate polymers more easily

BigSMILES language allows computers and researchers to convey stochastic configurations more clearly.

September 18, 2019

An instrument called a rheometer can measure mechanical properties of materials. The blue-colored gel on the stage of the instrument is the material. The rheometer is used to measure the modulus of the material, to gain an understanding of its stiffness and degree of dynamics.

Light-controlled polymers can switch between sturdy and soft

New material reversibly changes its structure in response to different wavelengths of light.

July 18, 2018

MIT chemists have now developed a 3-D printing technique that allows them to print objects and then go back and add new polymers that alter the materials’ chemical composition and mechanical properties. These new polymers can be reactivated by light.

Technique enables adaptable 3-D printing

Once fabricated, objects can be altered by adding new polymers.

January 13, 2017

MIT chemical engineers discovered that they could force antibodies and other proteins to form layers by attaching each protein to a polymer tail. The proteins and polymers repel each other, so the molecules arrange themselves in a structure that minimizes the interactions between the protein and polymer segments.

3-D antibody arrays offer better sensing

New tool could help diagnose malaria and other diseases.

January 4, 2017

Robert Macfarlane, the AMAX Assistant Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at MIT, holds vials of gold nanoparticles. Macfarlane designs nanoscale crystal structures whose assembly is activated by mutually attractive “sticky ends.”

Faculty highlight: Robert Macfarlane

MIT chemist constructs nanoparticle-based crystals by programming interactions of synthetic polymers and biopolymers at the molecular level.

October 14, 2016

Improving microparticle arrays for engineering applications: A new technique using tiny microwells pushes the precision and scalability of microparticle arrays to a new extreme. The assembly includes empty porous microwell arrays (top left) and unassembled microparticles (top middle). A close view of the microparticles in arrays appears at top right, and a wide view of the assembly appears below.

A better way to assay

New design of large-scale microparticle arrays can make materials science and bioengineering applications more scalable, precise, and versatile.

September 30, 2016

$Polymers, or long chains of repeating molecules, are found in many objects that we encounter every day, including anything made of plastic or rubber. In many materials, however, a significant fraction of these chains bind to themselves, forming defects.$

New theory overcomes a longstanding polymer problem

Technique for calculating elasticity could aid design of new materials.

September 15, 2016

These fluorescent gels were synthesized by mixing a polymer (polyethylene glycol) and a ligand (terpyridine) with two lanthanides — europium and terbium — in varying ratios.

The promise of fluorescent polymer gels

Color-changing materials could be used to detect structural failure in energy-related equipment.

July 1, 2016

MIT researchers have developed low-cost chemical sensors, made from chemically altered carbon nanotubes, that enable a smartphone or other wireless devices to detect trace amounts of toxic gases.

Wireless, wearable toxic-gas detector

Inexpensive sensors could be worn by soldiers to detect hazardous chemical agents.

June 30, 2016

MIT chemists have created a new type of gel by linking metal organic cages with long polymer strands (blue). The red polymer strands, which loop back to the cages, can be used to further customize the gels by adding other molecules.

Chemists create adaptable metallic-cage gels

New materials could be tuned for applications including drug delivery and water filtration.

November 17, 2015

Beauty business based on MIT bioengineering

Living Proof, a hair care corporation based on research emerging from the Langer Lab at MIT, has won 80 awards and counting.

August 7, 2015

Solving mysteries of conductivity in polymers

Materials seen as promising for optoelectronics and thermoelectric devices finally yield their secrets.

July 14, 2015

A woman in a lab wearing safety goggles

Materials Processing Center marks 35 years

Service to faculty, collaboration with industry are hallmarks of campus-based Materials Processing Center at MIT.

March 6, 2015

Christina Tringides, a senior at MIT and member of the research team, holds a sample of the multifunction fiber produced using the group’s new methodology.

New fibers can deliver many simultaneous stimuli

Implanted into the brain or spinal column, they can transmit drugs, light, and electrical signals.

January 19, 2015

Commercializing a new generation of polymer coatings

GVD’s vapor-deposited polymer coatings improve performance efficiency in critical applications across industries.

January 12, 2015