Sol-gel interconvertible 62-component dodecahedra assembled via amide-π–assisted anion-coordination nanoarchitectonics
Wen-Zheng Fu, Zhu Zhuo, Zi-Ang Nan, Wei Wang, Jun-Rui Liu, Qing Li, Lu-Yao Liu, Ting Chen, Yu-Long Zhang, Zhong-Qun Tian, Zhihao Li, Mao-Chun Hong, You-Gui Huang · 2026
Read Sol-gel interconvertible 62-component dodecahedra assembled via amide-π–assisted anion-coordination nanoarchitectonics by Wen-Zheng Fu, Zhu Zhuo, Zi-Ang Nan, Wei Wang, Jun-Rui Liu, Qing Li, Lu-Yao Liu, Ting Chen, Yu-Long Zhang, Zhong-Qun Tian, Zhihao Li, Mao-Chun Hong, You-Gui Huang (2026) in the Tower of Babel, a free online library of public-domain works preserved in clean, searchable text. No sign-up. The full text is served as a plain-text file at a predictable URL, where text is present: https://antarctic-labs.com/tower-of-babel/pmc-13232590.txt.
Description
Wen-Zheng Fu and colleagues assemble in 2026 a sixty-two-part molecular cage held together only by gentle bonds. Virus shells reach huge part counts with ease, yet lab cages built from weak bonds had stalled near twenty parts. Their design pairs anion coordination with stacking between flat amide groups to guide assembly.
Three kinds of building blocks lock into a twelve-sided cage through a web of hydrogen bonds and stacking contacts. The shape echoes the dengue virus shell and stays stable dissolved in liquid. Mixed with a solvent guest, the cages link into a gel that melts and resets on cue. Large soft cages could serve as containers for drugs or reactions at the nanoscale.
Catalog record
| CREATOR | Wen-Zheng Fu, Zhu Zhuo, Zi-Ang Nan, Wei Wang, Jun-Rui Liu, Qing Li, Lu-Yao Liu, Ting Chen, Yu-Long Zhang, Zhong-Qun Tian, Zhihao Li, Mao-Chun Hong, You-Gui Huang |
|---|---|
| YEAR | 2026 |
| COLLECTION | PAPERS |
| FORMAT | TXT |
| FILE SIZE | 25 KB |
| VERSION | 1.0 |
| LICENSE | CC BY 4.0 |
| RIGHTS | CC BY |
| SOURCE | Europe PMC |