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Insight into Biophysicochemical Principles of Biopolymers through Simulation and Theory

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Abstract

The development of biopolymers for biomedical applications has traditionally been based on new chemistries. However, there is growing recognition that the biological responses can be regulated by the physical as well as the chemical properties of biomaterials. Understanding the biophysicochemical principles regarding biopolymers is thereby of great importance in the generation of advanced biomaterials. Herein, this review article seeks to provide a conceptual framework demonstrating how the approaches of tailored computer simulations and theoretical analysis are harnessed to explore the physicochemical principles of biopolymer cellular interactions. We briefly introduce the theoretical and simulation methods used in this field, summarize the typical findings based on these approaches, and describe the correlations between theoretical results and experiments. Finally, the future prospects for the theoretical aspect of biopolymers and their biophysicochemical interactions are discussed. The knowledge might be critical from the perspective of advantageous and safe use of designer biomaterials.

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Acknowledgments

This work was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 22025302, 21873053 and 32230063). K.Y. thanks the financial support from the open research fund of Songshan Lake Materials Laboratory (No. 2021SLABFK10).

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  1. These authors contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Chemical Engineering, Department of Chemical Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China

    Hai-Xiao Wan, Duo Xu & Li-Tang Yan

  2. Center for Soft Condensed Matter Physics and Interdisciplinary Research & School of Physical Science and Technology, Soochow University, Suzhou, 215006, China

    Xue-Wei Dong & Kai Yang

Authors
  1. Hai-Xiao Wan
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  2. Duo Xu
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  3. Xue-Wei Dong
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  4. Kai Yang
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  5. Li-Tang Yan
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Correspondence to Kai Yang or Li-Tang Yan.

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Biographies

Kai Yang received his Ph.D. degree in soft matter physics from Nanjing University in 2009. He was appointed as an Associate Professor at Soochow University in 2010 and was promoted as a full Professor in 2015. During 2014–2015, he was a visiting professor at the Cornell University with Prof. Gerald W. Feigenson. His research interests include biophysics, Nano-Bio interactions, and simulations and theory of soft matter systems.

Li-Tang Yan received his Ph.D. in polymer physics and chemistry at Tsinghua University in 2007. Then he went to Bayreuth University in Germany as a Humboldt Research Fellowship. In 2010, he joined Prof. Anna Balazs’ group at University of Pittsburgh in USA as a Postdoctoral Research Fellowship. He returned to Tsinghua University as a faculty from May 2011, and now is a full professor with tenure. He leads a polymer theory and physics group working on polymer theory and simulation, soft condense matter physics, biophysics and nonequilibrium physics.

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Wan, HX., Xu, D., Dong, XW. et al. Insight into Biophysicochemical Principles of Biopolymers through Simulation and Theory. Chin J Polym Sci 41, 1342–1354 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10118-023-2954-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10118-023-2954-y

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