Self-assembly of biomolecular soft matter

Stupp, Samuel I.; Zha, R. Helen; Palmer, Liam C.; Cui, Honggang; Bitton, Ronit

doi:10.1039/c3fd00120b

Cited by 85 publications

(69 citation statements)

References 114 publications

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“…12 Ren et al also found that the content of HCNFs strongly depended on the type of catalytic supports and ratio of Cu/support. 12 At present, preparing helical nanofibers, [13][14][15][16] such as HCNFs, using novel catalyst has attracted great interest from researchers in the field of synthesis and related nanomaterials. [17][18][19] However, few works in the literature are concerned with the interaction between the ZnO matrix and Cu nanocrystals in helical fiber synthesis, which may have a great influence on the catalysts' properties.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Remarkable improvement in microwave absorption by cloaking a micro-scaled tetrapod hollow with helical carbon nanofibers

Jian

Chen

Zhou

et al. 2015

Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys.

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Helical nanofibers are prepared through in situ growth on the surface of a tetrapod-shaped ZnO whisker (T-ZnO), by employing a precursor decomposition method then adding substrate. After heat treatment at 900 1C under argon, this new composite material, named helical nanofiber-T-ZnO, undergoes a significant change in morphology and structure. The T-ZnO transforms from a solid tetrapod ZnO to a micro-scaled tetrapod hollow carbon film by reduction of the organic fiber at 900 1C. Besides, helical carbon nanofibers, generated from the carbonization of helical nanofibers, maintain the helical morphology. Interestingly, HCNFs with the T-hollow exhibit remarkable improvement in electromagnetic wave loss compared with the pure helical nanofibers. The enhanced loss ability may arise from the efficient dielectric friction, interface effect in the complex nanostructures and the micro-scaled tetrapod-hollow structure.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Remarkable improvement in microwave absorption by cloaking a micro-scaled tetrapod hollow with helical carbon nanofibers

Jian

Chen

Zhou

et al. 2015

Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys.

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“…Random-coil supramolecular polymers were studied by Meijer and co-workers, yielding an interesting class of materials with properties similar to those of regular polymers but with the dynamics of supramolecular assemblies. 58 The second class involves the formation of one-dimensional nanoarchitectures with a high degree of internal order (ordered supramolecular polymers) and was developed and extensively studied in the laboratories of Stupp, 59–62 Aida, 63 and others. 64,65 Ordered supramolecular polymers all share a common feature: The self-assembly of the monomers is driven by at least one type of anisotropic interaction, typically hydrogen-bonding or π−π interactions.…”

Section: Bioinspired Supramolecular Polymers: Structure and Assemblymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Adding a hydrophobic tail to one end of a peptide sequence resulted in the formation of a peptide amphiphile (PA) (Figure 3b). 59–62 This hydrophobic tail renders the peptide insoluble in water, and as a result, the monomers aggregate upon dispersion in aqueous solutions. Two domains in the peptide sequence prevent the aggregates from forming amorphous precipitates.…”

Section: Bioinspired Supramolecular Polymers: Structure and Assemblymentioning

confidence: 99%

Biopolymers and supramolecular polymers as biomaterials for biomedical applications

et al. 2015

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Protein- and peptide-based structural biopolymers are abundant building blocks of biological systems. Either in their natural forms, such as collagen, silk or fibronectin, or as related synthetic materials they can be used in various technologies. An emerging area is that of biomimetic materials inspired by protein-based biopolymers, which are made up of small molecules rather than macromolecules and can therefore be described as supramolecular polymers. These materials are very useful in biomedical applications because of their ability to imitate the extracellular matrix both in architecture and their capacity to signal cells. This article describes important features of the natural extracellular matrix and highlight how these features are being incorporated into biomaterials composed of biopolymers and supramolecular polymers. We particularly focus on the structures, properties, and functions of collagen, fibronectin, silk, and the supramolecular polymers inspired by them as biomaterials for regenerative medicine.

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“…These structures were too short, with lengths varying from 0.5 to 2 µm, to entangle with each other, thus no three-dimensional network enabling solvent trapping could be formed 50. It has been previously reported that by increasing the attraction energy, infinite sheets of stacked ribbons are formed, instead of individual fibers 51.…”

mentioning

confidence: 98%

Injectable Hydrogel: Amplifying the pH Sensitivity of a Triblock Copolypeptide by Conjugating the N-Termini via Dynamic Covalent Bonding

Popescu¹,

Liontos

Avgeropoulos

et al. 2016

ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces

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We explore the self-assembly behavior of aqueous solutions of an amphiphilic, pH-sensitive poly(l-alanine)-b-poly(l-glutamic acid)-b-poly(l-alanine), (A5E11A5) triblock copolypeptide, end-capped by benzaldehyde through Schiff base reaction. At elevated concentrations and under physiological pH (7.4) and ionic strength (0.15M), the bare copolypeptide aqueous solutions underwent a sol-gel transition after heating and slow cooling thermal treatment, forming opaque stiff gels due to a hierarchical self-assembly that led to the formation of β-sheet-based twisted super fibers (Popescu et al. Soft Matter 2015, 11, 331-342). The conjugation of the N-termini with benzaldehyde (Bz) through a Schiff base reaction amplifies the copolypeptide pH-sensitivity within a narrow pH window relevant for in vivo applications. Specifically, the dynamic character of the imine bond allowed coupling/decoupling of the Bz upon switching pH. The presence of Bz conjugates to the N-termini of the copolypeptide resulted in enhanced packing of the elementary superfibers into thick and short piles, which inhibited the ability of the system for gelation. However, partial cleavage of Bz upon lowering pH to 6.5 prompted recovery of the hydrogel. The sol-gel transition triggered by pH was reversible, due to the coupling/decoupling of the benzoic-imine dynamic covalent bonding, endowing thus the gelling system with injectability. Undesirably, the gelation temperature window was significantly reduced, which however can be regulated at physiological temperatures by using a suitable mixture of the bare and the Bz-conjugated coplypeptide. This triblock copolypeptide gelator was investigated as a scaffold for the encapsulation of polymersome nanocarriers, loaded with a hydrophilic model drug, calcein. The polymersome/polypeptide complex system showed prolonged probe release in pH 6.5, which is relevant to extracellular tumor environment, rendering the system potentially useful for sustained delivery of anticancer drugs locally in the tumor.

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Self-assembly of biomolecular soft matter

Cited by 85 publications

References 114 publications

Remarkable improvement in microwave absorption by cloaking a micro-scaled tetrapod hollow with helical carbon nanofibers

Remarkable improvement in microwave absorption by cloaking a micro-scaled tetrapod hollow with helical carbon nanofibers

Biopolymers and supramolecular polymers as biomaterials for biomedical applications

Injectable Hydrogel: Amplifying the pH Sensitivity of a Triblock Copolypeptide by Conjugating the N-Termini via Dynamic Covalent Bonding

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