By developing techniques to precisely control the growth and shape of polymers at the molecular level, researchers hope to make possible the design and synthesis of new materials with biomedical applications. The idea is to mimic the "bottoms-up" approach used in nature, which starts with single molecules of controlled size, shape and functionality, and assembles the molecules to form structures such as enzymes. Through a better understanding of these structures at the molecular level, Phil Britt of Oak Ridge National Laboratory's Chemical Sciences Division and Jimmy Mays of the University of Tennessee hope they can impact chemical, material, biological and computational sciences. Ultimately, this research could lead to targeted drug delivery systems for treating diseases. Funding is provided by the Laboratory Directed Research and Development program.
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