Main Page

This self-assembling structure has an interior cavity about 32 Å in diameter. It consists of 24 palladium ions, each of which is coordinated by 4 nitrogens, which are part of 48 dipyridylthiophene molecules. Such synthetic nano-spheres can be functionalized to create synthetic receptors and nanoreactors. Potential applications in sensing, catalysis, and drug delivery are being explored.

>>> See more animations and explanation >>>

by Eric Martz
A historical review on sculptures and physical models of macromolecules.

>>> Visit this page >>>

IB Tomasic, MC Metcalf, AI Guce, NE Clark, SC Garman. J. Biol. Chem. 2010 doi: 10.1074/jbc.M110.118588
The human lysosomal enzymes α-galactosidase and α-N-acetylgalactosaminidase share 46% amino acid sequence identity and have similar folds. Using a rational protein engineering approach, we interconverted the enzymatic specificity of α-GAL and α-NAGAL. The engineered α-GAL retains the antigenicity but has acquired the enzymatic specificity of α-NAGAL. Conversely, the engineered α-NAGAL retains the antigenicity but has acquired the enzymatic specificity of the α-GAL enzyme. Comparison of the crystal structures of the designed enzyme to the wild-type enzymes shows that active sites superimpose well, indicating success of the rational design. The designed enzymes might be useful as non-immunogenic alternatives in enzyme replacement therapy for treatment of lysosomal storage disorders such as Fabry disease.

>>> Visit this I3DC complement >>>

by Wayne Decatur
The 2025 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded for studies of metal-organic frameworks. Against expectations, the building blocks of metal-organic frameworks turned out to form networks with large cavities and the materials have a wide range of far-reaching practical applications.

>>> Visit this page >>>