A combined experimental and computational approach reveals how aromatic peptide amphiphiles self-assemble to form ion-conducting nanohelices
Yin Wang, Yaxin An, Yulia Shmidov, Ronit Bitton, Sanket A. Deshmukh, John B. Matson
Abstract
μS/cm) under high salt conditions in their nanohelix form. Remarkably, under the same salt conditions, these self-assembled nanohelices conducted ions 5-10-fold more efficiently than several charged polymers, including alginate and DNA. These results highlight how experiments and simulations can be combined to provide insight into how molecular design affects self-assembly pathways; additionally, this work highlights how this approach can lead to discovery of unexpected properties of self-assembled nanostructures.
Topics & Concepts
Salt (chemistry)Ionic strengthPhosphate buffered salineAmphiphileConductivityPeptideMaterials scienceCarboxylateIonic liquidSelf-assemblyGlutamic acidIonHydrolysisPhosphateLysineChemistryNanotechnologyAmino acidOrganic chemistryChromatographyCatalysisPhysical chemistryPolymerAqueous solutionComposite materialBiochemistryCopolymerSupramolecular Self-Assembly in MaterialsPolydiacetylene-based materials and applicationsLuminescence and Fluorescent Materials