Peptide-Mediated Synthesis of Zeolitic Imidazolate Framework-8: Effect of Molecular Hydrophobicity, Charge Number and Charge Location

Abstract

Three amphiphilic peptides with varied molecular hydrophobicity, charge number and charge location have been designed as regulators to modulate the crystal growth of zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 (ZIF-8). All three peptides can interact with ZIF-8 to inhibit {100} facet growth and produce truncated cubic crystals. The peptide’s molecular hydrophobicity plays a dominant role in defining the final morphology and size of the ZIF-8 crystals. The peptides with less charge and higher hydrophobicity can promote nuclei formation and crystal growth to give smaller ZIF-8 crystals. However, the charge located in the center of the molecular hydrophobic region has little effect on the crystal nucleation and growth due to the shielding of its charge by molecular aggregation. The study provides insights into the effect of molecular charge and hydrophobicity on ZIF-8 crystal growth and is helpful for guiding the molecular design for regulating the synthesis of metal-organic framework materials.

Mechanistic interaction studies of synthesized ZIF-8 nanoparticles with bovine serum albumin using spectroscopic and molecular docking approaches

“…The synthesis conditions and time dictate the morphology of the nanoparticles. In our case, spherical nanoparticles were obtained as a result of a less reaction time of 5 min, whereas several other studies have reported rhombic dodecahedral shaped particles involving larger reaction time (12 h or more) 26 , 27 . The hydrodynamic diameter of the particles using DLS measurements was found to be 211.9 nm with a low polydispersity index (PDI) of 0.025, confirming formation of uniform particles (Fig.…”

Amino Acid-Mediated Synthesis of the ZIF-8 Nanozyme That Reproduces Both the Zinc-Coordinated Active Center and Hydrophobic Pocket of Natural Carbonic Anhydrase

“…Figure S1 shows the evolution of the solution turbidity at 400 nm as a function of the reaction time in each case. Compared with pure ZIF-8, the introduction of amino acids accelerated the nucleation and growth of ZIF-8 Figure a 1 –a 6 shows the TEM morphologies of the ZIF-8 crystals prepared in each case.…”

“…With the introduction of amino acids, the size of the ZIF-8 crystal decreased, and the shape changed from rhomboid dodecahedron to cubic. The AA molecules are suggested to be adsorbed on the surface of ZIF-8, acting as a capping agent to inhibit the (1 0 0) facet growth. , Figure b shows the TEM size distribution histogram of AA–ZIF-8. The particle sizes of Ala–ZIF-8, Gly–ZIF-8, Ile–ZIF-8, Leu–ZIF-8, and Val–ZIF-8 are approximately 180 ± 40, 130 ± 30, 250 ± 30, 230 ± 25, and 200 ± 28 nm, respectively.…”

“…Compared with pure ZIF-8, the introduction of amino acids accelerated the nucleation and growth of ZIF-8. 49 Figure 2a 1 −a 6 shows the TEM morphologies of the ZIF-8 crystals prepared in each case. The ZIF-8 crystals prepared in water without any AA showed a typical rhombic dodecahedron (Figure 2a 1 ) with a size of about 1.4 μm.…”

“…The AA molecules are suggested to be adsorbed on the surface of ZIF-8, acting as a capping agent to inhibit the (1 0 0) facet growth. 49,50 Figure 3a shows the FTIR spectra of the ZIF-8 crystals and identifies the flexural vibration characteristics of ZIF-8. The peak at 421 cm −1 is attributed to the stretching vibrations of Zn−N.…”