The achiral tripeptide Boc‐Aib‐MABA‐Aib‐OMe has the ability to co‐exist as nanospheres and as a network of nanofibers in methanol. Furthermore, AFM and TEM images show the presence of bulges in the network of nanofibers. Interestingly, the formation of nanofibers is seen to emerge from the outer boundary of the spherical structures. Some of the nanofibers curl up at the tip and later result in the formation of hollow nanospheres with thick boundaries. The presence of β‐turn‐like structures with hydrogen bonding is observed using FT‐IR studies. The presence of hydrogen bonding is also demonstrated by using NMR studies.
The Cover Feature
illustrates the self‐assembly of the peptide Boc‐Aib‐MABA‐Aib‐OMe, as examined under a transmission electron microscope. Nanofibres of different lengths are seen to be generated from spherical structures. Some of the nanofibers curl up at their tips, as seen from the TEM images. More information can be found in the Communication by M. V. Vardhishna et al on
page 271 in Issue 3, 2019
(DOI:
10.1002/open.201800258
).
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