Oligomers: Just background noise or as functional elements in structured biopolymer systems?

In their own right, oligomers of biological origin have traditionally not been looked upon as having structural capabilities. This is of course due to their limited structuring potential when present alone. In combination with high molecular weight biopolymers, on the other hand, several reports on oligomers acting as modification agents exist. This paper gives some examples on how such oligomers can impose structural modifications on such ordered biopolymer systems pointing towards the possibility to tailor new product properties.