Tuning of Morphology by Chirality in Self-Assembled Structures of Bis(Urea) Amphiphiles in Water

We present the synthesis and self-assembly of a chiral bis(urea) amphiphile and show that chirality offers a remarkable level of control towards different morphologies. Upon self-assembly in water, the molecular-scale chiral information is translated to the mesoscopic level. Both enantiomers of the amphiphile self-assemble into chiral twisted ribbons with opposite handedness, as supported by Cryo-TEM and circular dichroism (CD) measurements. The system presents thermo-responsive aggregation behavior and combined transmittance measurements, temperature-dependent UV, CD, TEM, and micro-differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) show that a ribbon-to-vesicles transition occurs upon heating. Remarkably, chirality allows easy control of morphology as the self-assembly into distinct aggregates can be tuned by varying the enantiomeric excess of the amphiphile, giving access to flat sheets, helical ribbons, and twisted ribbons.     

Unraveling the mechanism of nanotube formation by chiral self-assembly of amphiphiles

The self-assembly of nanotubes from chiral amphiphiles and peptide mimics is still poorly understood. Here, we present the first complete path to nanotubes by chiral self-assembly studied with C(12)-β(12) (N-α-lauryl-lysyl-aminolauryl-lysyl-amide), a molecule designed to have unique hybrid architecture. Using the technique of direct-imaging cryo-transmission electron microscopy (cryo-TEM), we show the time-evolution from micelles of C(12)-β(12) to closed nanotubes, passing through several types of one-dimensional (1-D) intermediates such as elongated fibrils, twisted ribbons, and coiled helical ribbons. Scattering and diffraction techniques confirm that the fundamental unit is a monolayer lamella of C(12)-β(12), with the hydrophobic tails in the gel state and β-sheet arrangement. The lamellae are held together by a combination of hydrophobic interactions, and two sets of hydrogen-bonding networks, supporting C(12)-β(12) monomers assembly into fibrils and associating fibrils into ribbons. We further show that neither the "growing width" model nor the "closing pitch" model accurately describe the process of nanotube formation, and both ribbon width and pitch grow with maturation. Additionally, our data exclusively indicate that twisted ribbons are the precursors for coiled ribbons, and the latter structures give rise to nanotubes, and we show chirality is a key requirement for nanotube formation.     

全氟并五苯在半金属Ga表面的分子二聚化及自组装单层

利用超高真空扫描隧道显微镜(UHV-STM)和有机分子束沉积(OMBD)方法研究了全氟并五苯(perfluoropentancene,PFP)分子在半金属Ga表面的吸附和两维自组装. 在低覆盖度下单个PFP分子在Ga表面上表现出很高的迁移性. 在1分子单层(monolayer, ML)时PFP分子发生二聚化并在 Ga 表面上无序排列. 轻度热退火可导致PFP两维自组装: 二聚体排列为高度有序的一维分子带阵列, 带中 PFP二聚体排列为砖墙(brick wall)结构. 在高分辨 STM图中, PFP分子两端出现亮暗相反的圆形突起, 并且相邻分子的亮暗极性相反, 表明PFP分子带有电偶极矩, PFP二聚体带有电四极矩. 因此, PFP分子二聚体的形成机制可唯像解释为反向电偶极矩之间的静电吸引作用; 二聚体的砖墙排列结构可归结为同向电四极矩之间的静电排斥作用.     

Morphological control of helical solid bilayers in high-axial-ratio nanostructures through binary self-assembly

Mixed molecular species of cardanyl glucoside derived from renewable resources provide nanotubes upon self-assembly in water, while the saturated homologue generated a twisted fibrous morphology. The cardanyl glucoside mixture was fractionated into four individual components in order to study their contribution to the nanotube formation. The rational control of self-assembled helical morphologies was achieved by binary self-assembling of the saturated and monoene derivatives. This method can generate a diversity of self-assembled high-axial-ratio nanostructures (HARNs), ranging from twisted ribbons and helical ribbons to nanotubes.     

Energy migration in novel pH-triggered self-assembled beta-sheet ribbons

Energy migration between tryptophan residues has been experimentally demonstrated in self-assembled peptide tapes. Each peptide contains 11 amino acids with a Trp at position 6. The peptide self-assembly is pH-sensitive and forms amphiphilic tapes, which further stack in ribbons (double tapes) and fibrils in water depending on the concentration. Fluorescence spectra, quenching, and anisotropy experiments showed that when the pH is lowered from 9 to 2, the peptide self-assembly buries the tryptophan in a hydrophobic and restricted environment in the interior of stable ribbons as expected on the basis of the peptide design. These fluorescence data support directly and for the first time the presence of such ribbons which are characterized by a highly packed and stable hydrophobic interior. In common with Trp in many proteins, fluorescence lifetimes are nonexponential, but the average lifetime is shorter at low pH, possibly due to quenching with neighboring Phe residues. Unexpectedly, time-resolved fluorescence anisotropy does not change significantly with self-assembly when in water. In highly viscous sucrose-water mixtures, the anisotropy decay at low pH was largely unchanged compared to that in water, whereas at high pH, the anisotropy decay increased significantly. We concluded that depolarization at low pH was not due to rotational diffusion but mainly due to energy migration between adjacent tryptophan residues. This was supported by a master equation kinetic model of Trp-Trp energy migration, which showed that the simulated and experimental results are in good agreement, although on average only three Trp residues were visited before emission.     

Interactions at the outside faces of calix

Attractive pi-pi interactions between two of the four outside cavity faces of 1,3-bis-pyridylmethylcalix[4]arene (1) and both faces of 1,4-diiodotetrafluorobenzene (2a) form infinite one-dimensional non-covalent ribbons where the two modules alternate. These ribbons are cross-linked by electron donor-acceptor interactions between picolyl nitrogen atoms of calixarene 1 in one chain and iodine atoms of perfluoroarene 2a in another chain and the two-dimensional supramolecular network 3a is formed. A similar behaviour is also shown by 1,4-dibromotetrafluorobenzene (2b). The halogen bonding and the attractive pi-pi interactions occur in directions which are nearly orthogonal each other. Diiodotetrafluorobenzene, being involved in both these interactions, appears to be a particularly interesting tecton. The ability of electron-poor arenes to elicit the exo-receptor potential of calixarene module by connecting their outside faces through pi-pi interactions may be developed as a new and general binding protocol in calixarene self-assembly processes.     

Tunable self-assembled peptide amphiphile nanostructures

Peptide amphiphiles are capable of self-assembly into a diverse array of nanostructures including ribbons, tubes, and vesicles. However, the ability to select the morphology of the resulting structure is not well developed. We examined the influence of systematic changes in the number and type of hydrophobic and hydrophilic amino acids on the self-assembly of amphiphilic peptides. Variations in the morphology of self-assembled peptides of the form X(6)K(n) (X = alanine, valine, or leucine; K = lysine; n = 1-5) are investigated using a combination of transmission electron microscopy and dynamic light scattering measurements. The secondary structures of the peptides are determined using circular dichroism. Self-assembly is controlled through a combination of interactions between the hydrophobic segments of the peptide molecules and repulsive forces between the charged segments. Increasing the hydrophobicity of the peptide by changing X to a more lipophilic amino acid or decreasing the number of hydrophilic amino acids transforms the self-assembled nanostructures from vesicles to tubes and ribbons. Changes in the hydrophobicity of the peptides are reflected in changes in the critical micelle concentration observed using pyrene probe fluorescence analysis. Self-assembled materials formed from cationic peptide amphiphiles of this type display promise as carriers for insoluble molecules or negatively charged nucleic acids in drug or gene delivery applications.     

Handedness inversion of chiral amphiphilic molecular assemblies evidenced by supramolecular chiral imprinting in mesoporous silica assemblies

Antipodal twisted helical ribbons with lamellar bilayer structure were obtained by self-assembly of chiral amphiphilic molecules in water and water/ethanol. The handedness inversion of the molecular arrangement in these antipodal helical ribbons was investigated by using chiroptical spectroscopy and molecular probes in their antipodal mesoporous silica assemblies synthesized through pairing interaction between the head group of the chiral amphiphilic molecules and a co-structure-directing agent. The supramolecular chirality is imprinted in the pore surface through the organic group of the co-structure-directing agent. The mirror-image diffuse-reflectance circular dichroism spectra of the conjugated discotic probing molecule introduced into their supramolecular chiral imprinted mesoporous silica demonstrated the origin of inverse chirality from the antipodal helical stacking of the molecules.     

Adenine ribbon with Watson-crick and Hoogsteen motifs as the "double-sided adhesive tape" in the supramolecular structure of adenine and metal carboxylate

The cocrystals of adenine and metal (II) quinoline-2-carboxylates (M = Mn2+, Fe2+, Co2+) have been obtained by self-assembly. The complexes are composed of adenine ribbons with the AA22 pairing pattern involving both Watson-Crick and Hoogsteen faces in hydrogen bonding and the neutral molecules of carboxylate positioned in inorganic layers. The very compact supramolecular structure is made by the extensive system of hydrogen bonds and face-to-face pi-pi interactions.     

Progress in the direct structural characterization of fibrous amphiphilic supramolecular assemblies in solution by transmission electron microscopic techniques

The self-assembly of amphiphilic molecules into fibrous structures has been the subject of numerous studies over past decades due to various current and promising technical applications. Although very different in their head group chemistry many natural as well as synthetic amphiphilic compounds derived from carbohydrates, carbocyanine dyes, or amino acids tend to form fibrous structures by molecular self-assembly in water predominantly twisted ribbons or tubes. Often a transition between these assembly structures is observed, which is a phenomenon already theoretically approached by Wolfgang Helfrich and still focus point in current research. With the development of suitable sample preparation and electron optical imaging techniques, cryogenic transmission electron microscopy (cryo-TEM) in combination with three-dimensional (3D) reconstruction techniques has become a particular popular direct characterization technique for supramolecular assemblies in general. Here we review the recent progress in deriving precise structural information from cryo-TEM data of particularly fibrous structures preferably in three dimensions.     

The curious case of 12-hydroxystearic acid — the Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde of molecular gelators

A comprehensive review of the features driving self-assembly of 12-hydroxystearic acid (12-HSA), a low-molecular-weight gelator, and its applications in drug delivery and as other soft innovative materials are presented herein. 12-HSA is obtained via hydrogenation of ricinoleic acid naturally found in high concentrations in castor oil. The ability of 12-HSA to self-assemble is associated with the presence, position, and enantiomeric purity of the hydroxy group along the fatty acid chain. The polarity and position of the hydroxyl group facilitates more interaction possibilities leading to its exceptional self-assembly behavior giving rise to fibers, ribbons, and tubes in a variety of solvents. Upon self-assembly, 12-HSA undergoes crystallization resulting in the formation of high aspect ratio fibrillar structures due to noncovalent, intermolecular interactions forming self-spanning, three-dimensional networks (called self-assembled fibrillar networks) in both aqueous and organic solvents. Herein, emphasis is placed on emerging applications of 12-HSA supramolecular assemblies (i.e. responsive aqueous foams, gelled complex fluids, drug delivery systems, hydrogels, organogels, xerogels, and aerogel). The vast literature is compiled associated with 12-HSA self-assembly exploring supramolecular assemblies based on one ambidextrous gelator capable of assembling in aqueous and nonaqueous solvent.     

Diphenylalanine Motif Drives Self-Assembling in Hybrid PNA-Peptide Conjugates

Peptides and nucleic acids can self-assemble to give supramolecular structures that find application in different fields, ranging from the delivery of drugs to the obtainment of materials endowed with optical properties. Forces that stabilize the “suprastructures” typically are hydrogen bonds or aromatic interactions; in case of nucleic acids, Watson-Crick pairing drives self-assembly while, in case of peptides, backbone hydrogen bonds and interactions between aromatic side chains trigger the formation of structures, such as nanotubes or ribbons. Molecules containing both aromatic peptides and nucleic acids could in principle exploit different forces to self-assemble. In this work we meant to investigate the self-assembly of mixed systems, with the aim to understand which forces play a major role and determine formation/structure of aggregates. We therefore synthesized conjugates of the peptide FF to the peptide nucleic acid dimer “gc” and characterized their aggregates by different spectroscopic techniques, including NMR, CD and fluorescence.     

Designer self-assembling peptide materials

Understanding of macromolecular materials at the molecular level is becoming increasingly important for a new generation of nanomaterials for nanobiotechnology and other disciplines, namely, the design, synthesis, and fabrication of nanodevices at the molecular scale from bottom up. Basic engineering principles for microfabrication can be learned through fully grasping the molecular self-assembly and programmed assembly phenomena. Self- and programmed-assembly phenomena are ubiquitous in nature. Two key elements in molecular macrobiological material productions are chemical complementarity and structural compatibility, both of which require weak and non-covalent interactions that bring building blocks together during self-assembly. Significant advances have been made during the 1990s at the interface of materials chemistry and biology. They include the design of helical ribbons, peptide nanofiber scaffolds for three-dimensional cell cultures and tissue engineering, peptide surfactants for solubilizing and stabilizing diverse types of membrane proteins and their complexes, and molecular ink peptides for arbitrary printing and coating surfaces as well as coiled-coil helical peptides for multi-length scale fractal structures. These designer self-assembling peptides have far reaching implications in a broad spectrum of applications in biology, medicine, nanobiotechnology, and nanobiomedical technology, some of which are beyond our current imaginations. [image: see text]     

Design, preparation, and study of catalytic gated baskets

We report a diastereoselective synthetic method to obtain a family of catalytic molecular baskets containing a spacious cavity (~570 ?(3)). These supramolecular catalysts were envisioned, via the process of gating, to control the access of substrates to the embedded catalytic center and thereby modulate the outcome of chemical reactions. In particular, gated basket 1 comprises a porphyrin "floor" fused to four phthalimide "side walls" each carrying a revolving aromatic "gate". With the assistance of (1)H NMR and UV-vis spectroscopy, we demonstrated that the small 1-methylimidazole guest (12, 94 ?(3)) would coordinate to the interior while the larger 1,5-diadamantylimidazole guest (14, 361 ?(3)) is relegated to the exterior of basket Zn(II)-1. Subsequently, we examined the epoxidation of differently sized and shaped alkenes 18-21 with catalytic baskets 12(in)-Mn(III)-1 and 14(out)-Mn(III)-1 in the presence of the sacrificial oxidant iodosylarene. The epoxidation of cis-stilbene occurred in the cavity of 14(out)-Mn(III)-1 and at the outer face of 12(in)-Mn(III)-1 with the stereoselectivity of the two transformations being somewhat different. Importantly, catalytic basket 14(out)-Mn(III)-1 was capable of kinetically resolving an equimolar mixture of cis-2-octene 20 and cis-cyclooctene 21 via promotion of the transformation in its cavity.     

Tuning secondary structure and self-assembly of amphiphilic peptides

Self-assembly is one of nature's mechanisms by which higher order structures are obtained. Two of the main driving forces for self-assembly, hydrophobic interactions and hydrogen bonding, are both present within amphiphilic peptides. Here, it is demonstrated how the intricately interconnected folding and assembly behavior of an N-terminally acylated peptide, with the sequence GANPNAAG, has been tuned by varying its hydrophobic tail and thermal history. The change in interplay between hydrophobic forces and peptide folding allowed the occurrence of different types of aggregation, from soluble peptides with a random coil conformation to aggregated peptides arranged in a beta-sheet assembly, which form helically twisted bilayer ribbons.     

Self-assembly of an alkylated guanosine derivative into ordered supramolecular nanoribbons in solution and on solid surfaces

We report on the synthesis and self-assembly of a guanosine derivative bearing an alkyloxy side group under different environmental conditions. This derivative was found to spontaneously form ordered supramolecular nanoribbons in which the individual nucleobases are interacting through H-bonds. In toluene and chloroform solutions the formation of gel-like liquid-crystalline phases was observed. Sub-molecularly resolved scanning tunneling microscopic imaging of monolayers physisorbed at the graphite-solution interface revealed highly ordered two-dimensional networks. The recorded intramolecular contrast can be ascribed to the electronic properties of the different moieties composing the molecule, as proven by quantum-chemical calculations. This self-assembly behavior is in excellent agreement with that of 5'-O-acylated guanosines, which are also characterized by a self-assembled motif of guanosines that resembles parallel ribbons. Therefore, for guanosine derivatives (without sterically demanding groups on the guanine base) the formation of supramolecular nanoribbons in solution, in the solid state, and on flat surfaces is universal. This result is truly important in view of the electronic properties of these supramolecular anisotropic architectures and thus for potential applications in the fields of nano- and opto-electronics.     

Deposition features of Ni on self-assembled microtubule template from biolipid by electroless method

The self-assembly of lipid molecules is in close relationship with the structure and function of a cell membrane. A cell membrane has a variety of lipid molecules. Lipid molecules have their amphiphile na-tures, and their self-assembly can form a variety of thermodynamically stable microstructures, such as single-bilayer or multi-bilayer spherical and ellipsoidal liposome, microcylindrical and microtubular struc-tures[1]. These microstructures exhibit different bio-logical functions in living …     

Rigid-flexible block molecules based on a laterally extended aromatic segment: hierarchical assembly into single fibers, flat ribbons, and twisted ribbons

Self-assembling rigid-flexible block molecules consisting of a laterally extended aromatic segment and different lengths of hydrophilic coils were synthesized and characterized. The block molecule based on a long poly(ethylene oxide) coil (1), in the melt state, shows an unidentified columnar structure, whereas the molecule with a shorter poly(ethylene oxide) coil (2) self-organizes into an oblique columnar structure. Further decrease in the poly(ethylene oxide) coil length as in the case of 3, on heating, induces a rectangular columnar structure in addition to an oblique columnar mesophase. In diethyl ether, 1 and 2 were observed to self-assemble into uniform nanofibers with bilayer packing. Remarkably, these elementary fibers were observed to further aggregate in a lateral way to form well-defined flat ribbons (1) and twisted ribbons (2) with solvent exchange of diethyl ether into methanol. Furthermore, the ribbons formed in methanol dissociated into elementary fibers in response to the addition of aromatic guest molecules. This transformation between ribbons and single fibers in response to the addition of guest molecules is attributed to the intercalation of aromatic substrates within the rigid segments and subsequent loosening of the aromatic stacking interactions. These results demonstrate that the introduction of a laterally extended aromatic segment into an amphiphilic molecular architecture can lead to the hierarchical formation from elementary fibers of nanoribbons with a tunable twist through controlled lateral interactions between aromatic segments.     

pH as a trigger of peptide beta-sheet self-assembly and reversible switching between nematic and isotropic phases

The hierarchical self-assembly of rationally designed synthetic peptides into beta-sheet tapes, ribbons, fibrils, and fibers opens up potentially useful routes to soft-solidlike materials such as hydrogels, organogels, or liquid crystals. Here, it is shown how incorporation of Glu (-CH(2)CH(2)COOH) or Orn (-CH(2)CH(2)CH(2)NH(2)) into the primary structure of an 11 amino acid peptide enables self-assembly to be rapidly (seconds) and reversibly controlled by simply changing pH. Solutions of monomeric peptide, typically at concentrations in excess of 0.003 v/v, can be switched within seconds to, for example, nematic gel states comprised of interconnected orientationally ordered arrays of fibrils or vice versa. This is to be compared with the lyophilized peptide dissolution route to nematic fluids and gels which is impracticably long, taking many hours or even days. An important design principle, that stabilization of fibrillar dispersions requires of the order of one unit of net positive or negative charge per peptide molecule, is first demonstrated and then used to design an 11 amino acid peptide P(11)-3 (CH(3)CO-Gln-Gln-Arg-Phe-Gln-Trp-Gln-Phe-Gln-Gln-Gln-NH(2)) whose self-assembly behavior is independent of pH (1 < pH < 10). pH control is then incorporated by appropriately positioning Glu or Orn side chains so that the peptide-peptide free energy of interaction in the tapelike substructure is strongly influenced by direct electrostatic forces between gamma-COO(-) in Glu(-) or delta-NH(3)(+) in Orn(+), respectively. This design principle is illustrated by the behavior of two peptides: P(11)-4 (CH(3)CO-Gln-Gln-Arg-Phe-Glu-Trp-Glu-Phe-Glu-Gln-Gln-NH(2)) which can be switched from its nematic to its isotropic fluid state by increasing pH and P(11)-5 (CH(3)CO-Gln-Gln-Orn-Phe-Orn-Trp-Orn-Phe-Gln-Gln-Gln-NH(2)) designed to exhibit the converse behavior. Acid-base titrations of fibrillar dispersions reveal deprotonation of the gamma-COOH of Glu or of the delta-NH(3)(+) of Orn(+) occurs over wide bands of up to 5 pH units, a feature of polyelectrolytes. The values of the energy parameters controlling self-assembly can therefore be smoothly and continuously varied by changing pH. This enables isotropic fluid-to-nematic transitions to be triggered by relatively small additions of acid or base, typically 1 part in 10(3) by volume of 1 M HCl or NaOH.     

Self-assembly of amylin(20-29) amide-bond derivatives into helical ribbons and peptide nanotubes rather than fibrils

Uncontrolled aggregation of proteins or polypeptides can be detrimental for normal cellular processes in healthy organisms. Proteins or polypeptides that form these amyloid deposits differ in their primary sequence but share a common structural motif: the (anti)parallel beta sheet. A well-accepted approach for interfering with beta-sheet formation is the design of soluble beta-sheet peptides to disrupt the hydrogen-bonding network; this ultimately leads to the disassembly of the aggregates or fibrils. Here, we describe the synthesis, spectroscopic analysis, and aggregation behavior, imaged by electron microscopy, of several backbone-modified amylin(20-29) derivatives. It was found that these amylin derivatives were not able to form fibrils and to some extent were able to inhibit fibril growth of native amylin(20-29). However, two of the amylin peptides were able to form large supramolecular assemblies, like helical ribbons and peptide nanotubes, in which beta-sheet formation was clearly absent. This was quite unexpected since these peptides have been designed as soluble beta-sheet breakers for disrupting the characteristic hydrogen-bonding network of (anti)parallel beta sheets. The increased hydrophobicity and the presence of essential amino acid side chains in the newly designed amylin(20-29) derivatives were found to be the driving force for self-assembly into helical ribbons and peptide nanotubes. This example of controlled and desired peptide aggregation may be a strong impetus for research on bionanomaterials in which special shapes and assemblies are the focus of interest.