Patchy peptide particles for pH-responsive assembly into liquid crystals or lattices

Area of Science:

• Biomaterials Science
• Nanotechnology
• Supramolecular Chemistry

Background:

• Controlling protein and nanoparticle self-assembly into stable nanostructures across extreme pH is challenging.
• Designing materials with tunable self-assembly properties is crucial for advanced applications.

Purpose of the Study:

• To design and characterize peptide nanoparticles capable of programmable self-assembly.
• To investigate the influence of pH and concentration on nanoparticle assembly.
• To demonstrate pH-dependent, ordered hierarchical material formation.

Main Methods:

• Design of coiled-coil bundlemer peptide nanoparticles with patchy surface charge.
• Experimental observation of self-assembly across pH 1, 7, and 14 at varying concentrations.
• Molecular dynamics simulations to elucidate assembly mechanisms.

Main Results:

• Peptide nanoparticles formed ordered, hierarchical materials (nematic liquid crystals, hexagonal columnar phases, ordered lattices) across pH 1, 7, and 14.
• Assembly behavior was dependent on concentration and pH, driven by programmable electrostatic interactions.
• Molecular dynamics simulations confirmed end-to-end particle stacking as the underlying mechanism.

Conclusions:

• Programmable electrostatic interactions on peptide nanoparticles enable controlled self-assembly into diverse nanostructures.
• These peptide nanoparticles offer stability and tunable assembly across a broad pH range.
• The findings highlight the potential of protein-inspired design for creating advanced functional nanomaterials.