Controlled self-assembly of biomolecular rods on structured substrates
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Updated: Mar 25, 2026

Formation of Ordered Biomolecular Structures by the Self-assembly of Short Peptides
Published on: November 21, 2013
Pouya Moghimian1, Ludger Harnau, Vesna Srot
1Stuttgart Center for Electron Microscopy, Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research, 70569 Stuttgart, Germany. p.moghimian@fkf.mpg.de.
Abstract:
We report on the evaporative self-assembly and orientational ordering of semi-flexible spherocylindrical M13 phages on asymmetric stranded webs of thin amorphous carbon films. Although the phages were dispersed with a low concentration in the isotropic phase, the substrate edges induced nematic ordering and bending of the phages. As revealed by transmission electron microscopy, phages were aligned parallel to the curved substrate edges. This two-dimensional self-assembly on structured substrates opens a new route to the design of structures of orientationally ordered semi-flexible biomacromolecules.
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