Circular polycatenanes, supramolecular objects composed of molecular rings interlocked to form a large ring, were the object of the second seminar of the series “A quantum of matter”. These objects have been shown to mimic the properties of double-stranded DNA rings: in particular, these supramolecular structures can exchange twist, a local property, with writhe, a global property capturing how a curve entangles with itself, much like DNA rings do. The study by Tubiana et al, which appeared in Physical Review Letters [1], has recently been recommended by the Journal Club for Condensed Matter Physics as “one of the four outstanding papers in condensed matter for February 2023” [2].
Congratulations to Luca and to his co-authors!
References:
- L. Tubiana, F. Ferrari, and E. Orlandini, Circular Polycatenanes: Supramolecular Structures with Topologically Tunable Properties, Phys. Rev. Lett. 129, 227801 (2022).
- A.Y. Grobsberg, Eternally Green Flory theory, DOI: 10.36471/JCCM_February_2023_02: www.condmatjclub.org/?p=4777
