Chiral nanospirals put polymers in a spin

NIB: Nanospirals in self assembly of polymers

Source: (c) IOP Publishing

Spontaneous structures self-assemble inside hexagonal templates

Polymers have been grown into nanosized spirals inside hexagonal templates by a team of US researchers. These chiral nanospirals could be used to sense and analyse the ‘handedness’ of biomolecules such as DNA or be made into new materials.