Controllable amino acid polymerisation A microfluidic system for
polymerising amino acids, which could prompt a big step forward
in biopolymer synthesis, has been developed by scientists in
Japan. Polymer properties, such as average molecular weight, are
hard to control during polymerisations, and cause time-consuming
problems for commercialising useful polymers. Now, Masaya
Miyazaki and colleagues at the Nanotechnology Research
Institute, Saga, have developed a microreactor that allows amino
acid polymerisation to be easily controlled. In Miyazaki's
microreactor, the reagents for the polymerisation are fed into a
micromixer by two syringes operated by a syringe pump. This
allows the reagents to flow into the micromixer at closely
controlled rates, which in turn controls the molecular mass of
the polymer produced. Another benefit of the system is that it
is cheap to produce, raising the possibility of disposable
devices in the future. The most well-known amino acid polymers
are naturally occurring proteins, b