Self-assembly of trigonal building blocks into nanostructures: molecular design and biomedical applications

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (31) ◽  
pp. 6739-6752
Author(s):  
Kaiqi Long ◽  
Yuwei Liu ◽  
Yafei Li ◽  
Weiping Wang
Keyword(s):  
Self Assembly ◽  
Biomedical Applications ◽  
Molecular Design ◽  
Structural Characteristics ◽  
Building Blocks

This review introduces trigonal building blocks and summarizes their structural characteristics, self-assembly ability and biomedical applications.

Molecular Design of Bioinspired Nanostructures for Biomedical Applications: Synthesis, Self-Assembly and Functional Properties

2016 ◽  
Vol 04 (01) ◽  
pp. 1640003 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hesheng Victor Xu ◽  
Xin Ting Zheng ◽  
Beverly Yin Leng Mok ◽  
Salwa Ali Ibrahim ◽  
Yong Yu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Functional Properties ◽  
Self Assembly ◽  
Biomedical Applications ◽  
Colloidal Stability ◽  
Molecular Design ◽  
Building Blocks ◽  
Research Field ◽  
Personal Perspective

Biomolecules are the nanoscale building blocks of cells, which play multifaceted roles in the critical biological processes such as biomineralization in a living organism. In these processes, the biological molecules such as protein and nucleic acids use their exclusive biorecognition properties enabled from their unique chemical composition, shape and function to initiate a cascade of cellular events. The exceptional features of these biomolecules, coupled with the recent advancement in nanotechnology, have led to the emergence of a new research field that focuses on the molecular design of bioinspired nanostructures that inherit the extraordinary function of natural biomaterials. These “bioinspired” nanostructures could be formulated by biomimetic approaches through either self-assembling of biomolecules or acting as a biomolecular template/precursor to direct the synthesis of nanocomposite. In either situation, the resulting nanomaterials exhibit phenomenal biocompatibility, superb aqueous solubility and excellent colloidal stability, branding them exceptionally desirable for both in vitro and in vivo biomedical applications. In this review, we will present the recent developments in the preparation of “bioinspired” nanostructures through biomimetic self-assembly and biotemplating synthesis, as well as highlight their functional properties and potential applications in biomedical diagnostics and therapeutic delivery. Lastly, we will conclude this topic with some personal perspective on the challenges and future outlooks of the “bioinspired” nanostructures for nanomedicine.

scholarly journals Novel thermoresponsive polymer outperforming Pluronic® F127

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Constantinou ◽  
Valeria Nele ◽  
James Doutch ◽  
Roman Moiseev ◽  
Vitaliy Khutoryanskiy ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Self Assembly ◽  
Biomedical Applications ◽  
Ex Vivo ◽  
Structural Characteristics ◽  
Thermoresponsive Polymer ◽  
Scanning Calorimetry ◽  
Thermoresponsive Polymers ◽  
Crosslinked Networks ◽  
Gelation Concentration ◽  
Physically Crosslinked

Abstract Thermoresponsive polymers featuring the appropriate combination of structural characteristics, i.e. architecture, composition, and molar mass (MM), can form physically crosslinked networks in a solvent upon changes in temperature. This fascinating class of polymers finds utility in various sectors such as formulation science and tissue engineering. Here, we report a novel thermoresponsive triblock terpolymer which out-performs the most commonly used and commercially available thermoresponsive polymer, Poloxamer P407 (also known as Pluronic® F127) in terms of gelation concentration. Specifically, the in-house synthesised polymer forms gels at lower concentrations that is an advantage in biomedical applications. To elucidate the differences in their macroscale gelling behaviour, we investigate their micellization via differential scanning calorimetry, and their nanoscale self-assembly behaviour in detail by means of small-angle neutron scattering by simultaneously recording their rheological properties (Rheo-SANS). Two different gelation mechanisms for the two polymers are revealed and proposed. Ex vivo gelation study upon intracameral injections demonstrated excellent potential for its application to improve drug residence in the eye.

scholarly journals Sequence-Dependent Nanofiber Structures of Phenylalanine and Isoleucine Tripeptides

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (22) ◽  
pp. 8431
Author(s):  
Qinsi Xiong ◽  
Ziye Liu ◽  
Wei Han
Keyword(s):  
Self Assembly ◽  
Molecular Design ◽  
Hydrophobic Interactions ◽  
Structural Diversity ◽  
Building Blocks ◽  
Peptide Sequence ◽  
Sequence Dependence ◽  
Resolution Model ◽  
Structure Relationship ◽  
Relationship Of

The molecular design of short peptides to achieve a tailor-made functional architecture has attracted attention during the past decade but remains challenging as a result of insufficient understanding of the relationship between peptide sequence and assembled supramolecular structures. We report a hybrid-resolution model to computationally explore the sequence–structure relationship of self-assembly for tripeptides containing only phenylalanine and isoleucine. We found that all these tripeptides have a tendency to assemble into nanofibers composed of laterally associated filaments. Molecular arrangements within the assemblies are diverse and vary depending on the sequences. This structural diversity originates from (1) distinct conformations of peptide building blocks that lead to different surface geometries of the filaments and (2) unique sidechain arrangements at the filament interfaces for each sequence. Many conformations are available for tripeptides in solution, but only an extended β-strand and another resembling a right-handed turn are observed in assemblies. It was found that the sequence dependence of these conformations and the packing of resulting filaments are determined by multiple competing noncovalent forces, with hydrophobic interactions involving Phe being particularly important. The sequence pattern for each type of assembly conformation and packing has been identified. These results highlight the importance of the interplay between conformation, molecular packing, and sequences for determining detailed nanostructures of peptides and provide a detailed insight to support a more precise design of peptide-based nanomaterials.

Self-Assembly in Peptides Containing β-and γ-amino Acids

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (6) ◽  
pp. 584-597
Author(s):  
Sudha Shankar ◽  
Junaid Ur Rahim ◽  
Rajkishor Rai
Keyword(s):  
Amino Acids ◽  
Self Assembly ◽  
Biomedical Applications ◽  
Building Blocks ◽  
Secondary Structures ◽  
Complex Structures

The peptides containing β-and γ-amino acids as building blocks display well-defined secondary structures with unique morphologies. The ability of such peptides to self-assemble into complex structures of controlled geometries has been exploited in biomedical applications. Herein, we have provided an updated overview about the peptides containing β-and γ-amino acids considering the significance and advancement in the area of development of peptide-based biomaterials having diverse applications.

scholarly journals Ultrastable liquid crystalline blue phase from molecular synergistic self-assembly

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Wei Hu ◽  
Ling Wang ◽  
Meng Wang ◽  
Tingjun Zhong ◽  
Qian Wang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Self Assembly ◽  
Molecular Design ◽  
Glassy State ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Functional Materials ◽  
Building Blocks ◽  
Phase System ◽  
Temperature Range ◽  
Blue Phase ◽  
Blue Phases

AbstractFabricating functional materials via molecular self-assembly is a promising approach, and precisely controlling the molecular building blocks of nanostructures in the self-assembly process is an essential and challenging task. Blue phase liquid crystals are fascinating self-assembled three-dimensional nanomaterials because of their potential information displays and tuneable photonic applications. However, one of the main obstacles to their applications is their narrow temperature range of a few degrees centigrade, although many prior studies have broadened it to tens via molecular design. In this work, a series of tailored uniaxial rodlike mesogens disfavouring the formation of blue phases are introduced into a blue phase system comprising biaxial dimeric mesogens, a blue phase is observed continuously over a temperature range of 280 °C, and the range remains over 132.0 °C after excluding the frozen glassy state. The findings show that the molecular synergistic self-assembly behavior of biaxial and uniaxial mesogens may play a crucial role in achieving the ultrastable three-dimensional nanostructure of blue phases.

scholarly journals Synthesis and Characterisation of Dimeric Bolaamphiphilic Dehydrodipeptides for Biomedical Applications

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 35
Author(s):  
Carolina Amorim ◽  
Peter J. Jervis ◽  
Juliana Andrade ◽  
Paula M. T. Ferreira ◽  
José A. Martins
Keyword(s):  
Self Assembly ◽  
Biomedical Applications ◽  
Functional Materials ◽  
Building Blocks ◽  
The Self ◽  
Molecular Building Blocks

The self-assembly of nanometric structures from molecular building blocks is an effectiveway to make new functional materials for biological and technological applications. [...]

Recent advances in the fabrication and bio-medical applications of self-assembled dipeptide nanostructures

Nanomedicine ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 139-163
Author(s):  
Sonika Chibh ◽  
Jibanananda Mishra ◽  
Avneet Kour ◽  
Virander S Chauhan ◽  
Jiban J Panda
Keyword(s):  
Significant Role ◽  
Self Assembly ◽  
Biomedical Applications ◽  
Building Blocks ◽  
Natural Phenomenon ◽  
Medical Applications ◽  
Self Assembling ◽  
Recent Advances ◽  
Potential Applications ◽  
Self Assembled

Molecular self-assembly is a widespread natural phenomenon and has inspired several researchers to synthesize a compendium of nano/microstructures with widespread applications. Biomolecules like proteins, peptides and lipids are used as building blocks to fabricate various nanomaterials. Supramolecular peptide self-assembly continue to play a significant role in forming diverse nanostructures with numerous biomedical applications; however, dipeptides offer distinctive supremacy in their ability to self-assemble and produce a variety of nanostructures. Though several reviews have articulated the progress in the field of longer peptides or polymers and their self-assembling behavior, there is a paucity of reviews or literature covering the emerging field of dipeptide-based nanostructures. In this review, our goal is to present the recent advancements in dipeptide-based nanostructures with their potential applications.

scholarly journals Molecular design of stapled pentapeptides as building blocks of self-assembled coiled coil–like fibers

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. eabd0492
Author(s):  
Yixiang Jiang ◽  
Wan Zhang ◽  
Fadeng Yang ◽  
Chuan Wan ◽  
Xiang Cai ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Self Assembly ◽  
Molecular Design ◽  
Chemical Space ◽  
Coiled Coil ◽  
Building Blocks ◽  
Coiled Coils ◽  
Computational Method ◽  
Side Chain ◽  
Chain Flexibility ◽  
Self Assembled

Peptide self-assembly inspired by natural superhelical coiled coils has been actively pursued but remains challenging due to limited helicity of short peptides. Side chain stapling can strengthen short helices but is unexplored in design of self-assembled helical nanofibers as it is unknown how staples could be adapted to coiled coil architecture. Here, we demonstrate the feasibility of this design for pentapeptides using a computational method capable of predicting helicity and fiber-forming tendency of stapled peptides containing noncoded amino acids. Experiments showed that the best candidates, which carried an aromatically substituted staple and phenylalanine analogs, displayed exceptional helicity and assembled into nanofibers via specific head-to-tail hydrogen bonding and packing between staple and noncoded side chains. The fibers exhibited sheet-of-helix structures resembling the recently found collapsed coiled coils whose formation was sensitive to side chain flexibility. This study expands the chemical space of coiled coil assemblies and provides guidance for their design.

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