1.2 Nanoscale Actors and Their Properties

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Figure 1.13: G-protein-coupled receptor (GPCR), a transmembrane protein crucial in signal transduction

pathways. The transmembrane protein binds a signal at the outside, which triggers a conformational

change across the membrane (via lever action of stiff β-sheet sections of the protein) which then activates

the enzyme that is attached to the GPCR at the inside of the cell membrane.

Figure 1.14: Possible structures of homopolymers and copolymers.