Client: Paul Scherrer Institute PSI
Magazine: 5232 — The magazine of the Paul Scherrer Institute
Issue 1/2020

Glued smooth

Once again this year, I designed two illustrations in 3D for the Paul Scherrer Institute’s 5232 magazine for the Product & Helper sections. This time, the two contributions dealt with the question of how molecules for medicines can be filtered through a kind of template. The problem is that these molecules often occur in two variants: one “normal” and one mirrored. The difference is sometimes fatal: while one variant is the active ingredient that helps, its mirrored counterpart can be extremely harmful! Until now, a very complex process has been necessary to recognize these so-called enantiomers. Researchers at PSI are currently looking for simpler alternatives: A kind of nano-sieve could be the solution. It separates good and bad molecules by only allowing the good ones to pass through and sifting out the bad ones. In order to achieve surfaces that can be used to examine the above nano-sieves, for example, scientists need extremely smooth, polished carrier materials. The way to obtain such materials is surprisingly simple: a simple adhesive film is all that is needed to treat graphite like a kind of unconventional “waxing”: If you peel it off again, you get an atomically cleansurface, free of dust and the like – perfect for conducting research on …

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