A research team led by Dr. Ryujyu Suzuki and Dr. Shigeru Deguchi, Research Center for Bioscience and Nanoscience, has revealed organic pigments called carotenoids, which vividly color vegetables and fruits, produce their unique color tones by utilizing the "distortability" derived from their flexible molecular structure. The team expects the findings to be applied to the development of vivid coloring technology that brings out the intrinsic color tone of natural materials and new nanomaterials whose physical properties can be regulated by molecular distortion. The study was published in The Journal of Physical Chemistry C on January 21, 2022.

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