Assembly, growth and nonlinear thermo-optical properties of nitropeptides

Abstract

The molecular self-assembly, growth and nonlinear thermo-optical properties of three synthetic aromatic–aliphatic hybrid nitropeptides have been investigated. The X-ray crystallography of nitropeptide 2 containing a glutamic acid moiety shows that the peptide adopts a dimeric structure using intermolecular hydrogen bonding as well as face to face π–π stacking interactions. Moreover, nitropeptide 2 exhibits nonlocal nonlinear optical properties. When a Gaussian laser beam passes through nitropeptide 2, the peptide shows several concentric rings due to spatial self-phase modulation (SSPM). However, the homologous peptide 1 containing an aspartic acid moiety and peptide 3 containing an achiral α-aminoisobutyric acid (Aib) moiety adopt sheet-like structures and have no self-phase modulation effect. The report describes the thermo-optical properties consistent with assumption and calculation and is promising for their applications in nonlinear optical modulation devices.

Self-assembly of Functional Nanostructures by Short Helical Peptide Building Blocks

“…In addition, the wide range of available amino acids allows to modify the physical and chemical properties by varying the primary structures, adjusting them to specific applications. The self- assembly of peptides and their various analogues has been employed to prepare diverse interesting nanostructures, including fibers, tubes, ribbons, vesicle, films, and three-dimensional (3D) networks, which have been utilized for diverse functional purposes, such as drug delivery, tissue engineering, sensing, optoelectronics, catalysis, and biotechnology [1-3, 8-11].…”

Self-Healing Hydrogel from a Dipeptide and HCl Sensing

“…The supramolecular gels are used in many areas, from foods to electronics. These soft materials have wide applications as sensors for biologically important molecules and ions, as light-harvesting materials, − as an efficient catalyst for optoelectronic systems, and as an external support for tissue repairing and tissue engineering as well as selective drug delivery. − Different low molecular weight organic compounds including steroids, short peptides and peptide mimetics, − urea derivatives, − carbohydrates, dendrimers, , and π-gelators , have been used to form a stable supramolecular gel. However, most of these compounds may be obtained by a complex multistep synthesis.…”