Collaborative research from Hong Kong, Greece and China has investigated the flow of star polymers through nanopores.
Ultrafiltration of star chains with different lengths and numbers of arms shows that the minimum flow rate at which the chains begin to pass through a nanopore is independent of the arm length, but is strongly affected by the total number of arms and the number that initially enter the pore. These results are expected to influence the design of non-viral polymeric carriers for transporting genes into or through organs, such as the liver or kidneys.
Interested to know more? Why not read the full article for free: H. Ge, S. Pispas and C. Wu, Polym. Chem., 2011, DOI: 10.1039/C0PY00361A (Advance Article)
