INVESTIGADORES
MARTINO Debora Marcela
congresos y reuniones científicas
Título:
Photodimerization in biopolymers
Autor/es:
D. REYNA; D. ESTENOZ; D. M. MARTINO
Lugar:
Curitiba
Reunión:
Jornada; XII Jornadas de Jóvenes Investigadores Asociación de Universidades Grupo de Montevideo; 2004
Institución organizadora:
AUGM
Resumen:
For
centuries, nature has been the sole supplier of natural macromolecules ranging
from cotton, wool, silk to natural rubber. Now a day, these
renewal resources coming from plants, animals and microorganisms can be
modified to meet specific needs. With advances in chemistry and materials
science, a vast
array of novel synthetic polymers has been introduced virtually in every aspect
of modern society. However, the growing reliance on synthetic polymers has
raised a number of environmental and human health concerns. Most plastic materials, for
instance, are not biodegradable and are derived from nonrenewable resources. These problems have
focused our attention on polymers that are derived from biological precursors or mimic biological
processes.
We
performed studies in water-soluble thymine containing polymeric systems. It is
known that when thymine is irradiated
with short UV light (~ 265nm) it undergoes a dimerization reaction. This
photoreaction initiates a cross-linking mechanism, where neighboring strands
are "tied" together, leading to
insolubilization. The applicability of the biopolymers can be extended by the
addition of photosentitizers molecules, which absorb light of
longer wavelength (long UV ~ 365 nm or visible range) and induce the cross-link of
the polymer. Different dye molecules at several concentrations were used as
sensitizers. Dye-polymer
interactions appear to orient the polymer in a way that enhances the
photoreaction. By optimizing
the conditions for these interactions, it is possible to improve the
cross-linking mechanism.