A collaborative research group consisting of Professor Dr. Sota Sato of Department of Applied Chemistry, Graduate School of Engineering and Social Cooperation Program "Integrated Molecular Structure Analysis Laboratory" in the University of Tokyo, and Daicel Corporation, has developed a next-generation crystalline sponge.
While searching for crystalline sponge materials to use in "crystalline sponge method", an innovative structural analysis
technique, we discovered a new crystalline sponge (MOF: metal-organic framework) with internal hydrophilic environment, which is physically and chemically stable, solvent-resistant, and vacuum-resistant (Figure1). Compared to the conventional crystalline sponge, a much wider range of organic compounds can be encapsulated into the pores, which is expected to be applicable to a variety of fields, including drug discovery, and is a major step forward toward social implementation.
Figure1: Optical microscope observation of the new crystalline sponge