Asst. Prof., Undergrads Make the Cover
Asst. Prof. Dr. Dönüş Tuncel and her two undergraduate students, Müge Artar and Saltuk Buğra Hanay, have published an article in the Journal of Polymer Science Part A: Polymer Chemistry (vol. 48, 2010), a high impact journal in the area of polymer chemistry. The research was featured on the journal's cover. The work demonstrates the use of supramolecular and polymer chemistry in the formation of light emitting vesicles. Vesicles are formed by the self-assembly of a fluorene-thiophene-based green-light emitting conjugated polymer in the presence of a pumpkin-shaped macrocyle, called cucurbituril, which aids also the dissolution of a non-water-soluble conjugated polymer and causes an enhancement in its fluorescent quantum yield. This makes the conjugated polymer easier to see and track. This finding offers a significant contribution to the area of water soluble-light emitting polymers and vesicles that can be used in the area of biological and chemical sensors as well as drug delivery.