Consequences of a cosolvent on the structure and molecular dynamics of supramolecular polymers in water

Abstract

A cosolvent that is used to guide the self-assembly of amphiphiles in water causes abrupt structural changes, as well as non-linear behavior in the molecular dynamics of the amphiphiles.

Supramolecular Double Helices from Small C3-Symmetrical Molecules Aggregated in Water

“… 37 The full deuteration of polymers that were diluted from H 2 O into excess D 2 O for hydrogen/deuterium exchange experiments required multiple days, 37 and the polymers are remarkably resistive to disassembly by a good solvent. 38 When mixed with more water-soluble analogues, the obtained copolymers became even more stable in time. 39 Similar results have been recently obtained with BTAs that have carbohydrate groups at the periphery.…”

Exploring the Potential of Benzene-1,3,5-tricarboxamide Supramolecular Polymers as Biomaterials

“…The increased understanding gathered from fundamental studies on their assembly in water renders this class of materials highly promising for bioapplications. 20 − 23 BTAs are known to form μm-long 1D fibers via intermolecular 3-fold hydrogen bonding between the amides and hydrophobic effects 24 , 25 and they have been proven to be highly dynamic. 26 − 29 Additionally, in analogy to covalent polymers, copolymerization has been successfully achieved, 30 , 31 thus, allowing the modular insertion of multiple functionalities.…”

Morphology control in metallosupramolecular assemblies through solvent-induced steric demand

“…7 Accordingly, the key influence of solvent has been recognized and exploited to drive self-assembly processes in solution. [8][9][10] Pathway control in these systems is typically achieved by modulating the ratio between ''good'' and ''poor'' solvents. 11 However, in order to achieve a fundamental understanding of the influence of solvent, a thorough investigation of the solventinduced steric demand on the supramolecular polymerisation is required.…”

“…Interestingly, the potential hydrogen bonding interactions of water dissolved in oils showed a significant influence on the molecular packing due to co-assembly with the supramolecular building blocks resulting in different morphologies and intercalation motifs. Several other studies on the influence of solvent on self-assembly processes were also reported, which are based on tuneable aromatic interactions, 14 equilibrium kinetics 9 and morphology. 15 However, a direct comparison between the effect of solvents of opposed polarity on metallosupramolecular polymerisation has been overlooked, as typically only one type of solvent system (either aqueous or non-aqueous) is selected for aggregation studies.…”