Ordered self-assembly of small organic molecules may induce novel properties in a supramolecular arrangement and can act as advance functional materials. This paper discusses the development of a new stimuli-responsive dipeptide hydrogelator containing l -phenylalanine and α-aminoisobutyric acid (Aib). The dipeptide Boc-Phe-Aib-OH, on addition with three equivalent of sodium hydroxide and water, transformed into a robust hydrogel. The transparent hydrogel is self-healing in nature. The instant gelation is highly selective toward sodium hydroxide and does not need any sonication or heating–cooling cycle. The thixotropic nature of the gel has been confirmed by rheological step-strain experiments at room temperature. Moreover, in the oil–water mixture, the compound exhibits phase-selective gelation. When the gel cylinder is cut into pieces, it does not conduct electricity, but once self-healing occurs, it conducts electricity. The diffusion of rhodamine 6G through the hydrogel indicates the dynamic nature. The hydrogel is highly sensitive toward HCl, that is, in the presence of HCl vapor, the gel becomes deformed.

The peptide based super-gelators are highly soluble in non-toxic organic solvent ethanol, the solution is easy to handle and just by spraying the ethanol solution over an oil–water mixture it is able to form an organogel at room temperature.

Aggregation of proteins and peptides into fibrils are associated with many neurodegenerative disease of human, including Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and non-neurological type-II diabetes. Better understanding of the fibril formation...

Urea modified tryptophan has been used as an in situ reducing and stabilizing agent for the fabrication of gold nanoparticles and the gold nanoparticles efficiently catalyzed the Suzuki–Miyaura cross-coupling reaction in water.

A series of discotic tripeptides containing a rigid aromatic core and L-phenylalanine have been developed. The orientation of the amide bonds yielded variation of structure and self-assembly propensities of the...

A simple and cost-effective peptide-based in-field detection of the nitro explosive 2,4,6-trinitrophenol (TNP) in the solution, solid, and vapor state at very low concentration has been developed. In solution, the peptide experiences huge fluorescence quenching even at the ppb level concentration of TNP. The fluorescence turn-off process is governed by the charge transfer complex formation with TNP, almost immediately. Moreover, the probe exhibits very high selectivity and low interference of other analogues nitro explosives toward the detection of TNP. The detection can be done in-field at any condition such as in the solution state, solid state, as well as vapor state with a paper strip device and can be observed by the naked eye, which is necessary for a real-time explosive detector without any sophisticated and expensive instruments with a quicker response time.

The development of engineered hybrid systems by encapsulating nanoparticles in gel scaffolds and their synergistic effects are highly crucial for the fabrication of advanced functional materials. Herein, a series of dipeptides containing an aromatic amino acid at the N-terminal and an aliphatic amino acid at the C-terminal were synthesized and studied. Among them, only the dipeptide L-Phe-L-Val can form both hydro-and organogelator, depending on the N-and C-terminal protecting groups. The organogel shows bright blue emission under 366 nm UV irradiation; however, the hydrogel does not show such blue emission. Such kind of emission may be due to the self-assembly and high degree of aggregation in the gel state of the phenyl ring. The blue-emitting organogel efficiently encapsulates green emission source CdSe quantum dots and red emission source LD 700 perchlorate dye. The resulting organic− inorganic hybrid gel exhibits white light emission due to the synergistic effect under 366 nm UV irradiation.

A sustainable approach for C–C cross-coupling reaction at room temperature in water has been developed to avoid tedious Pd separation, reduce the carbon footprint, and save energy. Another important aspect is the catalyst recycling and easy product separation. α,γ-Hybrid peptides were designed to selectively use as a ligand for C–C cross-coupling catalysts as well as to form organogels. The peptides form antiparallel sheet-like structures in the solid state. The peptide containing m -aminobenzoic acid, glycine, and dimethylamine forms a whitish gel in toluene, and co-gelation with Pd(OAc) 2 results in light brown gel, which acts as a biphasic catalyst for Suzuki–Miyaura cross-coupling at room temperature in water by mild shaking. The organic–inorganic hybrid gel was characterized by rheology, field-emission scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and energy-dispersive X-ray analyses. On completion of the cross-coupling reaction, the basic aqueous layer (containing products) above the gel can be simply decanted and the intact organic–inorganic hybrid gel can be recycled by topping-up fresh reactants multiple times. The reaction permitted a range of different substitution patterns for aryl and heterocyclic halides with acid or phenol functional groups. Both electron-donating- and electron-withdrawing-substituted substrates exhibited good results for this transformation. The findings inspire toward a holistic green technology for Suzuki–Miyaura coupling reaction and an innovative avenue for catalyst recycling and product isolation.