Theoretical and computational research of polymers in materials and biophysics
We develop molecular theories of polymer structure and dynamics in various systems, including: polymer membranes, liquid-liquid phase transitions, elastomers, and bio-polymer networks. We seek to understand the molecular mechanisms responsible for polymer behavior and corroborate them using molecular dynamics simulations.
Research
Polymer Membranes
The transport of gases and small molecules through polymer membranes
Liquid-liquid phase separation
Understanding the assembly of polymers in membraneless organelles within cells
Chain and network elasticity
Studying the elastic properties of polymers from single chains to networks
Intrinsically disordered proteins
Interactions between intrinsically disordered proteins
Recent Publications
Brenman-Begin, D, Church, JR, Sahoo, S, Eyal, Z, Biran, I, Kampf, N, Barzilay, Y, Kossoy, A, Houben, L, Sapir, L, Hirshberg, B & Gur, D 2026, 'The Molecular Basis of Growth Control in Guanine Crystals', Small. https://doi.org/10.1002/smll.202510102
Zheng, X, Chiou, CY, Ekim, SD, Kouznetsova, TB, Vakil, J, Hu, Y, Sapir, L, Chen, D, Wang, Z, Rubinstein, M, Gong, JP, Sottos, NR & Craig, SL 2025, 'Tuning the Ultimate Strain of Single and Double Network Gels Through Reactive Strand Extension', ACS Central Science, vol. 11, no. 10, pp. 1882-1891. https://doi.org/10.1021/acscentsci.5c00932
Sapir, L, Chen, D & Rubinstein, M 2025, 'Reduction of Kuhn Length upon Chain Extension', ACS Macro Letters, vol. 14, pp. 1827-1834. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsmacrolett.5c00550
Igbaria-Jaber, Y, Mandato, A, Hofmann, L, Shenberger, Y, Gevorkyan-Airapetov, L, Sapir, L, Saxena, S & Ruthstein, S 2025, 'Tracking Copper sensing operon Repressor (CsoR) oligomerization in solution using Electron Paramagnetic Resonance spectroscopy', Protein Science, vol. 34, no. 10, e70303. https://doi.org/10.1002/pro.70303