Programmable Construction of Supramolecular Polymers Achieved in Neutral Lipid Environments

Area of Science:

• Biochemistry
• Materials Science
• Cell Biology

Background:

• Supramolecular polymerization within cells is key for controlling cellular functions.
• Lipid droplets, rich in neutral lipids, offer unique low-polarity environments.
• The role of these environments in supramolecular assembly is not well understood.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the role of neutral lipids, specifically triolein, in regulating supramolecular polymerization.
• To explore the potential of triolein as a medium for kinetically controlled self-assembly.
• To establish neutral lipids as functional media for precision supramolecular construction.

Main Methods:

• Utilized an alanine-based diamide-functionalized fluorophore for supramolecular polymerization studies.
• Employed triolein as the reaction medium and compared it with di-n-butyl ether.
• Conducted kinetic studies using ethyl oleate, a triolein analogue, to probe solute-solvent interactions.

Main Results:

• Triolein facilitates kinetically controlled supramolecular polymerization via a nucleation-elongation mechanism.
• Triolein suppresses spontaneous nucleation and inter-fiber bundling, introducing a lag phase.
• Seeded polymerization in triolein enables precise control over monomer addition and the formation of multiblock nanostructures.

Conclusions:

• Neutral lipids, exemplified by triolein, act as effective media for kinetically controlled supramolecular polymerization.
• Transient solute-solvent interactions in triolein are crucial for suppressing nucleation and bundling.
• This work establishes neutral lipids as versatile platforms for the precision engineering of supramolecular polymers within cellular environments.