Elucidation of lipid molecular dynamics on three-dimensional minimal surface and development of innovative lipid cubic method

2020 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 17H03038
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B)
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Functional solid state chemistry
• Research Institution: Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology
• Principal Investigator: ICHIKAWA Takahiro 東京農工大学, 工学(系)研究科(研究院), 准教授 (80598798)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): 渡辺 豪 北里大学, 理学部, 講師 (80547076)
• Project Period (FY): 2017-04-01 – 2021-03-31
• Keywords: ジャイロイド / 液晶 / 脂質キュービック法

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Precise analysis of the three-dimensional structures of various functional biopolymers is extremely important for understanding biological phenomena in the ecology. In this study, we focused on the further improvement of the "lipid cubic method", which is a method for producing such a single crystal of a biopolymer. In this method, we believe that it is essential to deeply understand and elucidate the bicontinuous cubic liquid crystals that are the medium of crystallization, and newly design and synthesize the molecules that form the liquid-crystalline phases. Their self-organizing behaviors were analyzed by making full use of experiments and simulations.

Free Research Field

自己組織化科学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

本研究を通して、双連続キュービック液晶に関する重要な設計指針を得ることができた。
得られた成果は目的通り『脂質キュービック法』の改良に有効である。しかし、双連続キュービック液晶が形成するジャイロイド構造は三次元の連続性を有するナノ構造であることを考えると、サイズ選択分離膜・電解質膜など多様な応用展開において劇的なイノベーションを生む可能性を秘めており、この液晶の理解は、学術的に意義深い。