Chemical study on plant pigments is not limited to the elucidation of the chemical structure of the pigments, but also extends to mechanisms of color development in plant cells and biosynthetic pathways of each reaction step, as well as their biological functions. For the past 30 years, we have been studying the chemistry of various flavonoid pigments. In this article, we describe our recent topics on blue flower coloration due to metalloanthocyanin, the mechanism of blue hydrangea color, red azuki and red cabbage pigments as food colorants, and chemical synthesis and biosynthesis of anthocyanins, which are closely related to each other.
Design and control of interfacial structure has an important role in chemical reactions and function control in various research fields. In previous studies, mechanisms of nucleation and selective crystal growth of inorganic matter during the mineralization process have been discussed based on several investigations utilizing many kinds of bio-macromolecular template (polypeptide, protein, and DNA). Moreover, fabrication of organic/inorganic hybrid materials inspired by living systems has demonstrated potentiality as functional materials for engineering, medical, and biochemical applications.
In this review, we discuss the analysis of mechanisms of nucleation and selective crystal growth of inorganic matter at mineralization process and the fabrication of organic/inorganic hybrid materials inspired by control of interfacial structure of living systems.
Printing paper still exists as a major information media presently. A demand forecasting, classification, manufacturing and physical property of the printing paper are summarized in this article. The good understanding of fundamentals of printing paper can be useful for the suitable choice of the paper to obtain desired print results.
The technological trends of the paper are also reviewed with overlooking the launched major products in the past three decades. Future prospects of the printing paper are predicted, while considering the current requirements in the point of paper manufacturing technology.