Self-Sorting vs Coassembly in Peptide Amphiphile Supramolecular Nanostructures

Area of Science:

• Supramolecular Chemistry
• Nanotechnology
• Materials Science

Background:

• Designing multi-component supramolecular nanostructures is key to integrating functions.
• Understanding self-sorting and coassembly behaviors is crucial for advanced materials.
• Peptide amphiphiles (PAs) are versatile building blocks for self-assembling nanostructures.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the self-sorting and coassembly behaviors of three different peptide amphiphiles (PAs).
• To understand how supramolecular chirality influences the assembly of binary PA systems.
• To explore the design principles for creating functional self-assembling biomolecular materials.

Main Methods:

• Utilized atomic force microscopy (AFM) to analyze nanoscale morphology.
• Employed confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) to track fluorescently labeled monomers.
• Synthesized and characterized three distinct peptide amphiphiles with β-sheet forming capabilities.

Main Results:

• Identified binary PA systems that exhibit either self-sorting or coassembly.
• Observed that PAs with opposite supramolecular chirality self-sorted into distinct nanostructures.
• Found that PAs forming mixed chiral assemblies (right-handed, left-handed, flat) coassembled with other PAs.

Conclusions:

• The energy barrier to altering β-sheet twist handedness influences coassembly behavior.
• Self-sorting is driven by opposite supramolecular chirality in PA systems.
• These findings enable the design of biomolecular nanostructures with dual bioactivity or interpenetrating networks.