Fibrillar superstructure from extended nanotapes formed by a collagen-stimulating peptide

The nanostructure of a peptide amphiphile in commercial use in anti-wrinkle creams is investigated. The peptide contains a matrikine, collagen-stimulating, pentapeptide sequence. Self-assembly into giant nanotapes is observed and the internal structure was found to comprise bilayers parallel to the flat tape surfaces.     

Observation of spinor dynamics in optically trapped 87Rb Bose-Einstein condensates

We measure spin mixing of F=1 and F=2 spinor condensates of 87Rb atoms confined in an optical trap. We determine the spin mixing time to be typically less than 600 ms and observe spin population oscillations. The equilibrium spin configuration in the F=1 manifold is measured for different magnetic fields and found to show ferromagnetic behavior for low field gradients. An F=2 condensate is created by microwave excitation from the F=1 manifold, and this spin-2 condensate is observed to decay exponentially with time constant 250 ms. Despite the short lifetime in the F=2 manifold, spin mixing of the condensate is observed within 50 ms.     

Nonspherical assemblies generated from polystyrene-b-poly(L-lysine) polyelectrolyte block copolymers

This report describes the aqueous solution self-assembly of a series of polystyrene(m)-b-poly(L-lysine)n block copolymers (m = 8-10; n = 10-70). The polymers are prepared by ring-opening polymerization of epsilon-benzyloxycarbonyl-L-lysine N-carboxyanhydride using amine terminated polystyrene macroinitiators, followed by removal of the benzyloxycarbonyl side chain protecting groups. The critical micelle concentration of the block copolymers determined using the pyrene probe technique shows a parabolic dependence on peptide block length exhibiting a maximum at n = approximately 20 (m = 8) or n = approximately 60 (m = 10). The shape and size of the aggregates has been studied by dynamic and static light scattering, small-angle neutron scattering (SANS), and analytical ultracentrifugation (AUC). Surprisingly, Holtzer and Kratky analysis of the static light scattering results indicates the presence of nonspherical, presumably cylindrical objects independent of the poly(L-lysine)n block length. This is supported by SANS data, which can be fitted well by assuming cylindrical scattering objects. AUC analysis allows the molecular weight of the aggregates to be estimated as several million g/mol, corresponding to aggregation numbers of several 10s to 100s. These aggregation numbers agree with those that can be estimated from the length and diameter of the cylinders obtained from the scattering results.     

Landau-Brazovski\overset{\lower0.5em\hbox{ theory for the Ia\bar 3d structure

The stability of the so-called “gyroid” phase, of symmetry, observed for lyotropic liquid crystals and block copolymers is accounted for using the Landau-Brazovskii theory of weak crystallization. In the mean field approximation, the phase is stable between the lamellar and hexagonal phases close to the disordered liquid phase. When allowance is made for Brazovskii critical fluctuations, a direct phase transition between the disordered liquid and phases is shown to be possible, in agreement with experimental observations. Pis’ma Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 64, No. 8, 564–569 (25 October 1996)     

Wormlike micelle formation and flow alignment of a pluronic block copolymer in aqueous solution

The self-assembly into wormlike micelles of a poly(ethylene oxide)-b-poly(propylene oxide)-b-poly(ethylene oxide) triblock copolymer Pluronic P84 in aqueous salt solution (2 M NaCl) has been studied by rheology, small-angle X-ray and neutron scattering (SAXS/SANS), and light scattering. Measurements of the flow curves by controlled stress rheometry indicated phase separation under flow. SAXS on solutions subjected to capillary flow showed alignment of micelles at intermediate shear rates, although loss of alignment was observed for high shear rates. For dilute solutions, SAXS and static light scattering data on unaligned samples could be superposed over three decades in scattering vector, providing unique information on the wormlike micelle structure over several length scales. SANS data provided information on even shorter length scales, in particular, concerning "blob" scattering from the micelle corona. The data could be modeled based on a system of semiflexible self-avoiding cylinders with a circular cross-section, as described by the wormlike chain model with excluded volume interactions. The micelle structure was compared at two temperatures close to the cloud point (47 degrees C). The micellar radius was found not to vary with temperature in this region, although the contour length increased with increasing temperature, whereas the Kuhn length decreased. These variations result in an increase of the low-concentration radius of gyration with increasing temperature. This was consistent with dynamic light scattering results, and, applying theoretical results from the literature, this is in agreement with an increase in endcap energy due to changes in hydration of the poly(ethylene oxide) blocks as the temperature is increased.     

Peptide fibrillization

The fibrillization of peptides is relevant to many diseases based on the deposition of amyloids. The formation of fibrils is being intensively studied, especially in terms of nanotechnology applications, where fibrillar peptide hydrogels are used for cell scaffolds, as supports for functional and responsive biomaterials, biosensors, and nanowires. This Review is concerned with fundamental aspects of the self-assembly of peptides into fibrils, and discusses both natural amyloid-forming peptides and synthetic materials, including peptide fragments, copolymers, and amphiphiles.     

The effect of shear on ordered block copolymer solutions

Block copolymers are extensively used in solution, especially aqueous solution, because of their amphiphilic character. This leads to the formation of lyotropic mesophases under given conditions of concentration and temperature. In many applications, block copolymer solutions are subjected to shear during processing (for example in drug delivery or when washing in detergent solutions) and thus it is of considerable interest to understand how shear affects the mesophase structure. Recent research has focussed on probing shear-induced structural transformations in lamellar, hexagonal and cubic-packed micellar phases using small-angle X-ray and neutron scattering.