USING ELECTRICITY TO CUE BIOLOGICAL ASSEMBLY MECHANISMS

by Gregory F. Payne (University of Maryland College Park)

Friday 10 Oct 2025, 16:00 → 17:00 Europe/Rome

Aula 6 (Dip. di Fisica - Edificio e. Fermi)

Biology achieves an incredible diversity in structure and function using a comparatively small set of materials and mechanisms.  In particular, biology routinely: (i) organizes materials over a hierarchy of length scales using molecular recognition-based self-assembly; and (ii) uses responsive (i.e., switchable) moieties to induce structural transitions in response to external pH and redox cues.  Importantly, many cues that induce self-assembly or switching can be imposed electrochemically.  In this talk, I will discuss in particular pH-Cue applied to chitosan and collagen-based materials and Redox-Cue applied to quinone-based hydrogels.