Discovery of ‘helical molecular glue’

Hideto Tsuji, professor in Toyohashi University of Technology, and his colleagues have made a world-first discovery of ‘molecular glue’ action of a counterclockwise-helical molecule to glue two structurally-different clockwise-helical molecules together. This discovery was announced on March 24 in Scientific Reports. To bind two polymers coiled in the same direction was previously impossible. Consequently, the degree of freedom in polymer combination has increased, and development of new polymer materials with various properties has become possible.