Crystalline Peptoid Nanofibers with a Single-Unit Cell Cross Section

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Nanotechnology
• Biomedical Engineering

Background:

• Precise structural control of ultranarrow crystalline nanostructures is crucial for nanotechnology and biomedicine.
• Hierarchical structure control is challenging due to complex noncovalent interactions at the nanoscale.

Purpose of the Study:

• To engineer ultranarrow crystalline nanofibers with precise structural control.
• To investigate the role of ionizable side chains in hierarchical self-assembly.
• To demonstrate the potential for creating 1D protein arrays.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a polypeptoid crystal motif as a supramolecular synthon.
• Incorporated a single ionizable side chain into a hydrophobic core.
• Employed cryogenic transmission electron microscopy (cryo-TEM) and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations.

Main Results:

• Successfully engineered ultranarrow crystalline nanofibers constrained to a single lattice axis.
• Observed distinct pH-dependent lattice isoforms leading to morphological transformations.
• MD simulations confirmed the critical role of ionizable side chains in conformational changes and hierarchical structure dimensionality.

Conclusions:

• Developed a high-precision bottom-up assembly method for ultranarrow 1D nanostructures.
• Demonstrated the ability to functionalize nanofibers for creating 1D protein arrays.
• This approach holds significant potential for novel biomimetic nanostructure development.