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Qi S, Zhao S, Lian Z. Unsynchronous conformational transitions induced by the asymmetric adsorption-response of an active diblock copolymer in an inert brush. SOFT MATTER 2023; 19:8423-8433. [PMID: 37877309 DOI: 10.1039/d3sm01040f] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/26/2023]
Abstract
To exploit the chemical asymmetry of diblock copolymer chains on the design of high-performance switch sensors, we propose an analytically tractable model system which contains an adsorption-responsive diblock copolymer in an otherwise inert brush, and study its phase transitions by using both analytical theory and self-consistent field calculations. The copolymer chain is chemically asymmetric in the sense that the two blocks assume different adsorption strengths, which is characterized by the defined adsorption ratio. We found that the conformation states, the number of stable phases, and transition types are mainly controlled by the length of each block and the adsorption ratio. In particular, when the length of the ungrafted block is longer than the brush chains, and the adsorption ratio is smaller than a critical value, the copolymer chain shows three thermodynamically stable states, and undergoes two unsynchronous transitions, where the two blocks respond to the adsorption in a different manner, when the adsorption changes from weak to sufficiently strong. For this kind of three-state transition, the transition point, transition barrier, and transition width are evaluated by using the self-consistent field method, and their scaling relationship with respect to the system parameters is extracted, which matches reasonably well with the predictions from the analytical theory. The self-consistent field calculations also indicate that the conformational transitions involved in the three-state transition process are sharp with a low energy barrier, and interestingly, barrier-free transitions are observed. Our finding shows that the three-state transitions not only specify a region where high performance unsynchronous switch sensors can be exploited, but may also provide a useful model understanding the unsynchronous biological processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shuanhu Qi
- School of Chemistry, Beihang University, Beijing 100191, China
| | - Shuli Zhao
- School of Physical Science and Technology, Ningbo University, Ningbo 315211, P. R. China.
| | - Zengju Lian
- School of Physical Science and Technology, Ningbo University, Ningbo 315211, P. R. China.
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2
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Lukiev IV, Mogelnitskaya YA, Mikhailov IV, Darinskii AA. Chains Stiffness Effect on the Vertical Segregation of Mixed Polymer Brushes in Selective Solvent. Polymers (Basel) 2023; 15:polym15030644. [PMID: 36771945 PMCID: PMC9919982 DOI: 10.3390/polym15030644] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/09/2022] [Revised: 01/15/2023] [Accepted: 01/24/2023] [Indexed: 01/28/2023] Open
Abstract
The microstructure of the binary polymer brushes in the selective solvent was studied using the numerical lattice self-consisting field approach. The case was considered when the selectivity to the solvent (the Flory-Huggins parameter χ) was varied only for one type of chains (responsive chains) while the others (non-responsive chains) remained hydrophilic (χ = 0). In such a brush, with an increase in the hydrophobicity of the responsive chains, a transition occurs between two two-layer microstructures. In the initial state the ends of the longer responsive chains are located near the external surface of the brush and those of non-responsive chains are inside the brush. When the hydrophobicity of the responsive chains becomes high enough then the reversed two-layer microstructure is formed, when the ends of non-responsive chains are located near the brush surface and the responsive chains collapse on the brush bottom. In contrast to previous works, the stiffness parameter (Kuhn segment length p) for one or for both types of chains was varied and its effect on the mechanism and characteristics of the transition was studied. If the stiffness of only responsive chains increases, then the transition occurs with the formation of an intermediate three-layer microstructure, where a layer of responsive chains is located between layers formed by non-responsive ones. If both types of chains have the same p, then the transition occurs gradually without the formation of an intermediate three-layer microstructure. For both cases, the effect of p on the critical value of χ*, corresponding to the transition point and on the steepness of the transition was investigated.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ivan V. Lukiev
- Center for Chemical Engineering, ITMO University, 197101 St. Petersburg, Russia
| | | | - Ivan V. Mikhailov
- Institute of Macromolecular Compounds, Russian Academy of Sciences, 199004 St. Petersburg, Russia
| | - Anatoly A. Darinskii
- Institute of Macromolecular Compounds, Russian Academy of Sciences, 199004 St. Petersburg, Russia
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +7-911-280-9517
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3
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Lian Z, Qi S. Size Effect of the End-Attached Particle on the Adsorption-Responsive Polymer Switches. Macromolecules 2022. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.macromol.2c01341] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Zengju Lian
- School of Physical Science and Technology, Ningbo University, Ningbo 315211, China
| | - Shuanhu Qi
- School of Chemistry, Beihang University, Beijing 100191, China
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4
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Smook LA, Ritsema van Eck GC, de Beer S. Vapor sorption in binary polymer brushes: The effect of the polymer-polymer interface. J Chem Phys 2021; 155:054904. [PMID: 34364330 DOI: 10.1063/5.0057065] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Polymer brushes attract vapors that are good solvents for polymers. This is useful in sensing and other technologies that rely on concentrating vapors for optimal performance. It was recently shown that vapor sorption can be enhanced further by incorporating two incompatible types of polymers A and B in the brushes: additional vapor adsorbs at the high-energy polymer-polymer interface in these binary brushes. In this article, we present a model that describes this enhanced sorption in binary brushes of immiscible A-B polymers. To do so, we set up a free-energy model to predict the interfacial area between the different polymer phases in binary brushes. This description is combined with Gibbs adsorption isotherms to determine the adsorption at these interfaces. We validate our model with coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulations. Moreover, based on our results, we propose design parameters (A-B chain fraction, grafting density, vapor, and A-B interaction strength) for optimal vapor absorption in coatings composed of binary brushes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leon A Smook
- Sustainable Polymer Chemistry Group, Department of Molecules and Materials, MESA+ Institute for Nanotechnology, University of Twente, P.O. Box 217, 7500 AE Enschede, The Netherlands
| | - Guido C Ritsema van Eck
- Sustainable Polymer Chemistry Group, Department of Molecules and Materials, MESA+ Institute for Nanotechnology, University of Twente, P.O. Box 217, 7500 AE Enschede, The Netherlands
| | - Sissi de Beer
- Sustainable Polymer Chemistry Group, Department of Molecules and Materials, MESA+ Institute for Nanotechnology, University of Twente, P.O. Box 217, 7500 AE Enschede, The Netherlands
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5
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Cerdà JJ, Bona-Casas C, Cerrato A, Sintes T, Massó J. Colloidal magnetic brushes: influence of the magnetic content and presence of short-range attractive forces in the micro-structure and field response. SOFT MATTER 2021; 17:5780-5791. [PMID: 34027950 DOI: 10.1039/d0sm02006k] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
The behaviour of supramolecular brushes, whose filaments are composed of sequences of magnetic and non-magnetic colloidal particles, has been studied using Langevin dynamics simulations. Two types of brushes have been considered: sticky or Stockmayer brushes (SB) and non-sticky magnetic brushes (NSB). In both cases, the microstructure and the collective behaviour have been analysed for a wide range of magnetic field strengths including the zero-field case, and negative fields. The results show that, for the same magnetic content, SB placed in a magnetic field present an extensibility up to two times larger than NSB. The analysis of the microstructure of SB at zero field shows that magnetic particles belonging to different filaments in the brush self-organize into ring and chain aggregates, while magnetic colloids in NSB mainly remain in a non-aggregated state. Clustering among magnetic particles belonging to different filaments is observed to gradually fade away as the magnetic content of SB filaments increases towards 100%. Under an external field, SB are observed to form chains, threads and sheets depending on the magnetic content and the applied field strength. The chain-like clusters in SB are observed to decrease in size as the magnetic content in the filaments increases. A non-monotonic field dependence is observed for the average size of these clusters. In spite of the very different microstructure, both NSB and SB are observed to have a very similar magnetization, especially in high strength fields.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joan J Cerdà
- Dpt. de Física UIB i Institut d'Aplicacions Computacionals de Codi Comunitari (IAC3), Campus UIB, E-07122 Palma de Mallorca, Spain.
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6
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Qi S, Klushin LI, Skvortsov AM, Schmid F. Adsorption Active Diblock Copolymers as Universal Agents for Unusual Barrier-Free Transitions in Stimuli-Responsive Brushes. Macromolecules 2021. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.macromol.0c02095] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Shuanhu Qi
- Key Laboratory of Bio-inspired Smart Interfacial Science and Technology of Ministry of Education, School of Chemistry, Beihang University, Beijing 100191, China
| | - Leonid I. Klushin
- Department of Physics, American University of Beirut, P.O. Box 11-0236, Beirut 1107 2020, Lebanon
- Institute for Macromolecular Compounds RAS, Bolshoi pr. 31, 1199004 St. Petersburg, Russia
| | | | - Friederike Schmid
- Institut für Physik, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz, Staudingerweg 7, D-55099 Mainz, Germany
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7
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Koch M, Romeis D, Sommer JU. End-Adsorbing Chains in Polymer Brushes: Pathway to Highly Metastable Switchable Surfaces. Macromolecules 2020. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.macromol.0c01094] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Markus Koch
- Institute Theory of Polymers, Leibniz Institute of Polymer Research Dresden, Hohe Str. 6, 01069 Dresden, Germany
| | - Dirk Romeis
- Institute Theory of Polymers, Leibniz Institute of Polymer Research Dresden, Hohe Str. 6, 01069 Dresden, Germany
| | - Jens-Uwe Sommer
- Institute Theory of Polymers, Leibniz Institute of Polymer Research Dresden, Hohe Str. 6, 01069 Dresden, Germany
- Institute of Theoretical Physics, Dresden University of Technology, Zellescher Weg 17, 01069 Dresden, Germany
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8
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Qi S, Klushin LI, Skvortsov AM, Schmid F. Using Copolymers to Design Tunable Stimuli-Reponsive Brushes. Macromolecules 2020. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.macromol.0c00674] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Shuanhu Qi
- Key Laboratory of Bio-inspired Smart Interfacial Science and Technology of Ministry of Education, School of Chemistry, Beihang University, Beijing 100191, China
| | - Leonid I. Klushin
- Department of Physics, American University of Beirut, P.O. Box 11-0236, Beirut 1107 2020, Lebanon
- Institute for Macromolecular Compounds RAS, Bolshoi pr. 31, 1199004 St. Petersburg, Russia
| | | | - Friederike Schmid
- Institut für Physik, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz, Staudingerweg 7, D-55099 Mainz, Germany
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9
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Zhu PW, Chen L. Conformational collapse of spherical poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) brushes under the constraint of bound micelles. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2017; 19:31362-31376. [DOI: 10.1039/c7cp06406c] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
In this paper, we investigate the micelle (charge)-constrained collapse of a spherical poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM) brush.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peng-Wei Zhu
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering
- Monash University
- Clayton
- Australia
| | - Luguang Chen
- Department of Chemical Engineering
- Monash University
- Clayton
- Australia
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10
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Voß Y, Wassel E, Jiang S, Song Q, Druzhinin SI, Schönherr H. Thin Poly(Di(Ethylene Glycol)Methyl Ether Methacrylate) Homopolymer Brushes Allow Controlled Adsorption and Desorption of PaTu 8988t Cells. Macromol Biosci 2016; 17. [DOI: 10.1002/mabi.201600337] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/06/2016] [Revised: 09/23/2016] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Yvonne Voß
- University of Siegen; Department of Chemistry and Biology & Research Center of Micro and Nanochemistry and Engineering (Cμ); Physical Chemistry I; Adolf-Reichwein-Str. 2 57076 Siegen Germany
| | - Ekram Wassel
- University of Siegen; Department of Chemistry and Biology & Research Center of Micro and Nanochemistry and Engineering (Cμ); Physical Chemistry I; Adolf-Reichwein-Str. 2 57076 Siegen Germany
| | - Siyu Jiang
- University of Siegen; Department of Chemistry and Biology & Research Center of Micro and Nanochemistry and Engineering (Cμ); Physical Chemistry I; Adolf-Reichwein-Str. 2 57076 Siegen Germany
| | - Qimeng Song
- University of Siegen; Department of Chemistry and Biology & Research Center of Micro and Nanochemistry and Engineering (Cμ); Physical Chemistry I; Adolf-Reichwein-Str. 2 57076 Siegen Germany
| | - Sergey I. Druzhinin
- University of Siegen; Department of Chemistry and Biology & Research Center of Micro and Nanochemistry and Engineering (Cμ); Physical Chemistry I; Adolf-Reichwein-Str. 2 57076 Siegen Germany
| | - Holger Schönherr
- University of Siegen; Department of Chemistry and Biology & Research Center of Micro and Nanochemistry and Engineering (Cμ); Physical Chemistry I; Adolf-Reichwein-Str. 2 57076 Siegen Germany
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11
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Akkilic N, Molenaar R, Claessens MMAE, Blum C, de Vos WM. Monitoring the Switching of Single BSA-ATTO 488 Molecules Covalently End-Attached to a pH-Responsive PAA Brush. LANGMUIR : THE ACS JOURNAL OF SURFACES AND COLLOIDS 2016; 32:8803-8811. [PMID: 27525503 DOI: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.6b01064] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
We describe a novel combination of a responsive polymer brush and a fluorescently labeled biomolecule, where the position of the biomolecule can be switched from inside to outside the brush and vice versa by a change in pH. For this, we grafted ultrathin, amino-terminated poly(acrylic acid) brushes to glass and silicon substrates. Individual bovine serum albumin (BSA) molecules labeled with fluorophore ATTO 488 were covalently end-attached to the polymers in this brush using a bis-N-succinimidyl-(pentaethylene glycol) linker. We investigated the dry layer properties of the brush-protein ensemble, and it is swelling behavior using spectroscopic ellipsometry. Total internal reflection fluorescence (TIRF) microscopy enabled us to study the distance-dependent switching of the fluorescently labeled protein molecules. The fluorescence emission from the labeled proteins ceased (out-state) when the polymer chains stretched away from the interface under basic pH conditions, and fluorescence recurred (in-state) when the chains collapsed under acidic conditions. Moreover, TIRF allowed us to study the fluorescence switching behavior of fluorescently labeled BSA molecules down to the single-molecule level, and we demonstrate that this switching is fast but that the exact intensity during the in-state is the result of a more random process. Control experiments verify that the switching behavior is directly correlated to the responsive behavior of the polymer brush. We propose this system as a platform for switchable sensor applications but also as a method to study the swelling and collapse of individual polymer chains in a responsive polymer brush.
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Affiliation(s)
- Namik Akkilic
- Membrane Science and Technology, and ‡Nanobiophysics, Mesa+ Institute for Nanotechnology, University of Twente , P.O. Box 217, 7500 AE Enschede, The Netherlands
| | - Robert Molenaar
- Membrane Science and Technology, and ‡Nanobiophysics, Mesa+ Institute for Nanotechnology, University of Twente , P.O. Box 217, 7500 AE Enschede, The Netherlands
| | - Mireille M A E Claessens
- Membrane Science and Technology, and ‡Nanobiophysics, Mesa+ Institute for Nanotechnology, University of Twente , P.O. Box 217, 7500 AE Enschede, The Netherlands
| | - Christian Blum
- Membrane Science and Technology, and ‡Nanobiophysics, Mesa+ Institute for Nanotechnology, University of Twente , P.O. Box 217, 7500 AE Enschede, The Netherlands
| | - Wiebe M de Vos
- Membrane Science and Technology, and ‡Nanobiophysics, Mesa+ Institute for Nanotechnology, University of Twente , P.O. Box 217, 7500 AE Enschede, The Netherlands
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12
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Léonforte F, Müller M. Functional Poly(N-isopropylacrylamide)/Poly(acrylic acid) Mixed Brushes for Controlled Manipulation of Nanoparticles. Macromolecules 2016. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.macromol.6b00535] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Fabien Léonforte
- Institut
für Theoretische Physik, Georg-August-Universität, Friedrich-Hund-Platz 1, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Marcus Müller
- Institut
für Theoretische Physik, Georg-August-Universität, Friedrich-Hund-Platz 1, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
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13
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Cerdà JJ, Sánchez PA, Lüsebrink D, Kantorovich S, Sintes T. Flexible magnetic filaments under the influence of external magnetic fields in the limit of infinite dilution. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2016; 18:12616-25. [PMID: 27095133 DOI: 10.1039/c6cp00923a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
In the present work we use Langevin dynamics computer simulations to understand how the presence of a constant external magnetic field modifies the conformational phase diagram of magnetic filaments in the limit of infinite dilution. We have considered the filaments immersed in either a good (non-sticky filaments) or a poor (Stockmayer polymers) solvent. It has been found that in the presence of an applied field, filaments turn out to be much more susceptible to parameters such as temperature and solvent conditions. Filaments owe this increased susceptibility to the fact that the external magnetic field tends to level the free energy landscape as compared to the zero-field case. The field induces equalization in the free energy of competing conformational states that were separated by large energy differences in the zero-field limit. In this new scenario multistability arises, and manifests itself in the existence of broad regions in the phase diagram where two or more equilibrium configurations coexist. The existence of multistability greatly enhances the possibility of tuning the properties of the filament.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joan J Cerdà
- Instituto de Física Interdisciplinar y Sistemas Complejos, IFISC (CSIC-UIB), Universitat de les Illes Balears, E-07122 Palma de Mallorca, Spain.
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14
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Dalier F, Eghiaian F, Scheuring S, Marie E, Tribet C. Temperature-Switchable Control of Ligand Display on Adlayers of Mixed Poly(lysine)-g-(PEO) and Poly(lysine)-g-(ligand-modified poly-N-isopropylacrylamide). Biomacromolecules 2016; 17:1727-36. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.biomac.6b00136] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- F. Dalier
- Ecole Normale
Supérieure-PSL Research University, Dpt Chimie, Sorbonne Universités
- UPMC Univ. Paris 06, CNRS UMR 8640, 24 rue Lhomond, 75005 Paris, France
| | - F. Eghiaian
- U1006 INSERM,
Aix-Marseille Université, Parc Scientifique et Technologique
de Luminy, 163 av. de Luminy, 13009 Marseille, France
| | - S. Scheuring
- U1006 INSERM,
Aix-Marseille Université, Parc Scientifique et Technologique
de Luminy, 163 av. de Luminy, 13009 Marseille, France
| | - E. Marie
- Ecole Normale
Supérieure-PSL Research University, Dpt Chimie, Sorbonne Universités
- UPMC Univ. Paris 06, CNRS UMR 8640, 24 rue Lhomond, 75005 Paris, France
| | - C. Tribet
- Ecole Normale
Supérieure-PSL Research University, Dpt Chimie, Sorbonne Universités
- UPMC Univ. Paris 06, CNRS UMR 8640, 24 rue Lhomond, 75005 Paris, France
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