Luminescent supramolecular hydrogels from a tripeptide and nitrogen-doped carbon nanodots

Abstract

The combination of different components such as carbon nanostructures and organic gelators into composite nanostructured hydrogels is attracting wide interest for a variety of applications, including sensing and biomaterials. In particular, both supramolecular hydrogels that are formed from unprotected D,L-tripeptides bearing the Phe-Phe motif and nitrogen-doped carbon nanodots (NCNDs) are promising materials for biological use. In this work, they were combined to obtain luminescent, supramolecular hydrogels at physiological conditions. The self-assembly of a tripeptide upon application of a pH trigger was studied in the presence of NCNDs to evaluate effects at the supramolecular level. Luminescent hydrogels were obtained whereby NCND addition allowed the rheological properties to be fine-tuned and led to an overall more homogeneous system composed of thinner fibrils with narrower diameter distribution.

Assembly of a Tripeptide and Anti-Inflammatory Drugs into Supramolecular Hydrogels for Sustained Release

“…If we compare the CD data with the literature, we can see that the most similar case is the one of d Leu-Phe-Phe assembled in the presence of carbon nanodots [30], whereby the 1–2 nm-wide components altered quantitatively, but not qualitatively, the CD signal in the 200–220 nm region. However, in that case, the minimum at 205 nm was reduced, and the others at 216 and 219 nm were increased.…”

“…It is interesting to compare the TEM micrographs of these systems relative to those in the literature, where d Leu-Phe-Phe is assembled in the presence of other components. Nanomorphological behaviour is strikingly similar to the case of both hydrophilic rhodamine dye [28] or carbon nanodots (displaying carboxylic acid and amine groups on their surface) [30] that were dissolved/dispersed with the peptide in the alkaline buffer. By contrast, when d Leu-Phe-Phe was co-assembled with hydrophobic ciprofloxacin, the fibers’ nanomorphology was markedly different, showing nanospheres attached to the fibrils, and fibrils with a notably increased level of branching relative to the peptide alone [15].…”

Nanocellulose: Recent advances and its prospects in environmental remediation

“…The high reactivity and high surface area of nanomaterials are some of the notable features which provide an advantage in environmental remediation over other conventional alternatives [ 1 ]. Promising materials such as graphitic carbon nitride [ 2 – 3 ], carbon nanodots [ 4 ], and two-dimensional carbon-based nanocomposites [ 5 – 7 ] are a few trending nanomaterials that have already found extensive applications in both environmental remediation and energy generation. In the past, carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have received a great deal of attention as materials for environmental remediation due to their impressive mechanical properties and superior adsorption capability.…”

Biomedical Applications of Graphene-Based Structures

“…Another strategy that is utilized in cancer treatment is the formation of injectable hydrogels with GO-based nanofillers that can bind and subsequently release typical hydrophobic anticancer drugs [ 87 ]. One example is G/GO composite supramolecular hydrogels that incorporate Camptothecin (CPT) and Doxorubicin (DXR) [ 88 ].…”