ポリマー1分子の直視高分子鎖一本の構造とダイナミクスのイメージ&#12531... (Japanese)

Direct observation of a polymer chain deepens the understanding about its structure and function. The study of single-polymer-chains was made possible after the scanning probe microscope (SPM) and the total internal reflection fluorescent microscope (TIRFM) had been developed. The author succeeded in the direct observation of the long-chain branch (LCB) structure in a low density polyethylene (LDPE), and the structural dynamics of a polymer chain in a functionalized styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR) and an ethylene-propylene (EP) rubber measured by a fast-scanning atomic force microscope (FS-AFM). Single-molecule imaging of a macromolecular motion in a chiral helical polymer was achieved by the FS-AFM, and the diffusion coefficient of each part of the polymer chain was measured. Furthermore, a molecular walking along a rail of a synthetic helical polymer was discovered. This walking such as a crawling locomotion was observed by the FS-AFM in an organic solvent at room temperature. This result is a breakthrough that serves as the first step in order to create an artificial life function as a synthetic molecular motor driven by a thermal fluctuation in non-aqueous media. On the other hand, the photonic function of the light-emission from a rigid-rod conjugated polymer was measured using TIRFM at room temperature. The light-emission from a single polymer chain as it slowly and dynamically changes over a cycle lasting a few seconds has been successfully detected using TIRFM with a built-in spectroscope. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

1分子の直接観測は，分子の構造と機能に関する理解を深化させる．筆者は，これまでにポリマー1分子のイメージング研究を走査プローブ顕微鏡法や全反射型蛍光顕微鏡法などを駆使して展開している．たとえば高速原子間力顕微鏡法で，低密度ポリエチレン(LDPE)長鎖分岐構造の直接計測，変性SBRポリマー鎖一本の構造とダイナミクスの解析に成功した．また，キラルらせん高分子鎖一本の高次構造と動態を明らかにした．さらに，高分子鎖一本のレールに沿って分子がゆらぎながら歩行する人工生命的機能を発見した．全反射蛍光顕微鏡法では，π共役系主鎖構造を有するポリマー1分子の蛍光スペクトルが秒のオーダーでゆっくりと変化する動的な発光現象を見いだした． [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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