A nanocomposite is a reinforcing material that can be added to conventional materials to make them lightweight and ductile while also increasing their strength. Nanocomposites having high strength-to-...
Learn More

A nanocomposite includes a matrix material to which nanoparticles (with a size of about 1.0 nm to a few hundreds of nanometers) have been added to improve a particular property of the material. For ex...
Learn More

The reduction of small molecules such as nitrogen and carbon dioxide is extremely difficult because one-electron reduction processes often involve high-energy intermediates. Nitrogen reduction usually...
Learn More

Ultra-high temperature ceramics (UHTCs), SiC-based ceramic matrix composites (CMCs) and cermets are all materials that can be used in high temperature environments; however, these materials need prote...
Learn More

Phosphines have many commercial and industrial uses as attachments to rare earth metal catalysts, including specialized uses in asymmetric hydrogenation and other catalytic transformations. Asymmetric...
Learn More

Responsive hydrogels can respond to external stimuli such as temperature, pH, photons and antigens, which makes them applicable as functional materials in drug/gene delivery devices, microlenses and s...
Learn More

Endoperoxides are prominent structural features of several natural products with potent activity against malaria and various cancer cell lines. However, they are difficult to synthesize. The most stra...
Learn More

Oligomycin is a highly stable macrolide antibiotic isolated from the fungus Streptomyces diastochromogenes. It is a potent inhibitor of mitochondrial ATPase and phosphoryl group transfer.
Learn More

Unnatural polymers that contain β- and γ-amino acids are known as "foldamers." These foldamers form long-lasting, predictable structures that are very stable and resistant to proteolytic d...
Learn More

The lack of methods to easily synthesize sufficient quantities of selectively modified peptides and proteins has hindered research on the biological functions and molecular interactions of side-chain ...
Learn More

Wound healing is a complex and dynamic process of rebuilding skin and tissue. Chronic or impaired wounds result when tissues fail to progress through the necessary stages of healing. This is a signifi...
Learn More

Asymmetric synthesis is important in the pharmaceutical industry because frequently only one optically active isomer, or enantiomer, is therapeutically active. Therefore, it is often desirable to sele...
Learn More

Methods that allow reactive polymer films to be deposited or assembled on topologically complex substrates are useful for the patterning or chemical modification of surfaces in a broad range of applic...
Learn More

Diazo compounds, which have the general formula R2C=N2, are versatile intermediates in organic synthesis.  They participate in a variety of thermal, photochemical and metal-catalyzed reactions. Most ...
Learn More

UW–Madison researchers previously developed a method of using traceless Staudinger ligation to chemically synthesize proteins (see WARF reference number P00315US).  This method is based on the Stau...
Learn More

Beta amino acids are the basic building blocks of beta peptides, which have physiological applications, such as blocking human cytomegalovirus infection. Although some types of beta amino acids are re...
Learn More

Over the past decade, polymer composites have emerged as a new class of high performance materials with unique and desirable material properties such as strength, weight and rigidity. These composites...
Learn More

Position emission tomography (PET) plays a vital role in the diagnosis of health and disease. The long-lived isotope iodine-124 (I-124; half-life 4.2 days) has many features that make it an attractive...
Learn More

Extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography is one of the most promising techniques for creating semiconductor devices, integrated circuits and microelectronic devices with nanoscale features (i.e., smaller...
Learn More

Semi-solid casting (SSC) is a high-integrity die casting technique, wherein metal is injected into a mold cavity in a semi-liquid/solid state with a “slushy” consistency. Semi-solid metal has lowe...
Learn More

Foldamers are synthetic protein oligomers with discrete and predictable folding properties akin to those of natural proteins. They provide molecular tools to investigate large-molecule interactions su...
Learn More

Bulk metallic glasses (BMGs) exhibit unique properties including high strength, excellent wear and corrosion resistance, high resistance to fractures and outstanding castability. They are also inexpen...
Learn More

Levulinic acid is a biomass-derived compound that can be obtained inexpensively in high yields from a variety of waste cellulose-containing materials. It has been identified as a top biomass-derived c...
Learn More

Recent surveys have identified welding of dissimilar metals as a top priority in materials joining technology. Friction-stir welding currently is the best potential process for welding dissimilar meta...
Learn More

Heat exchangers are used in chemical processing; power production; household appliances such as air conditioners, refrigerators and space heaters; and even automobile radiators.  Plate heat exchanger...
Learn More