Controlling the properties of the micellar and gel phase by varying the counterion in functionalised-dipeptide systems

Abstract

The micellar aggregates formed at high pH for dipeptide-based gelators can be varied by using different alkali metal salts to prepare the solutions.

In situreal-time monitoring of the mechanism of self-assembly of short peptide supramolecular polymers

“…This behaviour is consistent with a continuous equilibrium between monomer and aggregates in a micellar-like fashion, similar to what happens for other aggregating small peptides. 22,37,39,40 Strikingly, this situation remained constant over long periods of time (> 30 min), Please do not adjust margins Please do not adjust margins indicating a stable nucleus size in equilibrium with the monomer serving as reservoirs for subsequent fibril growth (Figure 2C). In contrast, the FLCS curves of incubated Fmoc-FF Cs + pictured a clearly different scenario.…”

“…Herein, we have monitored and studied in detail the mechanism of self-assembly of Fmoc-FF in the presence of different metal salts. [37][38][39][40][41] Using an environment-sensitive fluorescent reporter for peptide aggregation and the combination of advanced multiparametric fluorescence microscopy and single-molecule fluorescence lifetime correlation spectroscopy (FLCS), we have Please do not adjust margins Please do not adjust margins been able to monitor the mechanism of early self-assembly and growth of peptide fibers from solution to gels. Our results are well supported by Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR), DFT theoretical calculations, Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) and rheology of the resulting gels.…”

Stimuli responsive dynamic transformations in supramolecular gels

“…229 The carboxylate anions formed upon deprotonation at high pH can bind the counter cation of the base to reduce the electrostatic repulsion and further crosslinking results in formation of a stable gels at high pH. [230][231][232][233] The change in cation induces different packing in the micellar phase and thereby determines the material properties. 234 A transition from the salt-induced gel to pHtriggered gel is possible by reducing the pH using hydrolysis agent like glucono-d-lactone (GdL).…”

Beamline B21: high-throughput small-angle X-ray scattering at Diamond Light Source

“…Samples can be loaded into 2 mm path-length polyimide capillaries or into wells on 3D printed sticks (both available from the beamline). The temperature of the MPS cell can be controlled between 4 and 60 C. The MPS cells have been used to measure a variety of samples such as gels (McAulay et al, 2020), lipids (Yeh et al, 2020) and peptide self-assembly (Pelin et al, 2020).…”