Nanosheet formation by an anionic surfactant-like peptide and modulation of self-assembly through ionic complexation

Hamley, I. W. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4549-0926, Hutchinson, J., Kirkham, S., Castelletto, V., Kaur, A., Reza, M. and Ruokolainen, J. (2016) Nanosheet formation by an anionic surfactant-like peptide and modulation of self-assembly through ionic complexation. Langmuir, 32 (40). pp. 10387-10393. ISSN 0743-7463 doi: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.6b02180

Abstract/Summary

The surfactant-like peptide (Ala)6-(Asp) (A6D) is shown to self-assemble into ultrathin (3 nm thick) nanosheets in aqueous solution above a critical aggregation concentration. A combination of circular dichroism and FTIR spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction shows that the nanosheets comprise interdigitated bilayers of the peptide with β-sheet conformation. The self-assembly can be modulated by addition of hexamethylenediamine which is expected to interact with the anionic C terminus (and C-terminal D residue) of the peptide. Multiple ordered nanostructures can be accessed depending on the amount of added diamine. Nanosheet and bicontinuous network structures were observed using cryogenic-TEM and small-angle X-ray scattering. Addition of hexamethylenediamine at a sufficiently large molar ratio leads to disruption of the ordered nanostructure and the formation of a solution of A6D–diamine molecular complexes with highly charged end groups. The multiple acid-functionalized nanostructures that are accessible in this system are expected to have many applications in the fabrication of new nanomaterials.

Item Type	Article
URI	https://reading-clone.eprints-hosting.org/id/eprint/68326
Item Type	Article
Refereed	Yes
Divisions	Life Sciences > School of Chemistry, Food and Pharmacy > Department of Chemistry
Publisher	American Chemical Society
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