Transient supramolecular reconfiguration of peptide nanostructures using ultrasound

Charalampos G. Pappas, Tapiwa Mutasa, Pim W. J. M. Frederix, Scott Fleming, Shuo Bia, Sisir Debnath, Sharon M. Kelly, Anthony Gachagan, Rein V. Ulijn

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

44 Citations (Scopus)
159 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Ultrasound, i.e. high frequency oscillating pressure waves, is commonly used to overcome kinetic barriers associated with dissolution, assembly and gelation.We demonstrate that ultrasound energy may also be used to achieve transient reorganization of supramolecular nanostructures, which revert back to the original state when sound is switched off. Aromatic peptide amphiphiles, Fmoc-FL and -YL were used to study the transient acoustic response. These systems showed temporary supramolecular transitions that were sequence dependent. The changes observed were due to an altered balance between H-bonding and p-stacking, giving rise in changes in chiral organisation of peptide building blocks. Transient reconfiguration was visualized by TEM and changes in supramolecular interactions characterized by fluorescence, FT-IR and CD. Remarkably, significant differences are observed when compared to thermal heating, which shows relates to the oscillating and directional characteristics of ultrasound when delivering heat to a system.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)198-202
Number of pages5
JournalMaterials Horizons
Volume2
Issue number2
Early online date3 Dec 2014
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Mar 2015

Keywords

  • ultrasound energy
  • supramolecular reconfiguration
  • peptide nanostructures
  • supramolecular nanostructures

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