Transient supramolecular reconfiguration of peptide nanostructures using ultrasound

Abstract

This version is available at https://strathprints.strath.ac.uk/51770/ Strathprints is designed to allow users to access the research output of the University of Strathclyde. Unless otherwise explicitly stated on the manuscript, Copyright © and Moral Rights for the papers on this site are retained by the individual authors and/or other copyright owners. Please check the manuscript for details of any other licences that may have been applied. You may not engage in further distribution of the material for any profitmaking activities or any commercial gain. You may freely distribute both the url (https://strathprints.strath.ac.uk/) and the content of this paper for research or private study, educational, or not-for-profit purposes without prior permission or charge.Any correspondence concerning this service should be sent to the Strathprints administrator: strathprints@strath.ac.ukThe Strathprints institutional repository (https://strathprints.strath.ac.uk) is a digital archive of University of Strathclyde research outputs. It has been developed to disseminate open access research outputs, expose data about those outputs, and enable the management and persistent access to Strathclyde's intellectual output. RSCPublishing COMMUNICATIONThis journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry 2012 J. Name., 2012, 00, 1-3 | 1 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 Hbonding and -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.

Self-assembled peptide nanostructures for functional materials

“…Infrared (IR) spectroscopy deals with the electromagnetic spectrum change of peptides due to molecular vibrations and conformational changes within amide A (∼3200-3300 cm −1 ), amide I (∼1600-1700 cm −1 ), amide II (∼1480-1580 cm −1 ) and amide III (∼1200-1300 cm −1 ) bands in themid-infrared region [230][231][232]. The shifts in the amide I band were analysed to monitor the structural changes as a result of the peptide self-assembly, which can be triggered via different factors such as UV irradiation [233], ultrasonication [234,235], pH, ion addition or electrostatic interactions. In particular, the peaks in the amide I bands, which are correlated with C=O stretching of the self-assembled peptide nanostructures, contribute to the analysis of parallel or antiparallel β-sheet [236,237], α-helix, β-turn or random-coil secondary structure organization of the peptide assemblies.…”

Amino Acid Chirality and Ferrocene Conformation Guided Self‐Assembly and Gelation of Ferrocene–Peptide Conjugates

“…Due to the reversible nature of interactions, these gels are responsive and tuneable. Responsiveness of these gels to stimuli such as light,30–33 pH changes,34 ultrasound,35–37 enzymes38, 39 and changes in the redox state40–43 is of particular interest. In order to design such “smart peptide materials”, it is important to have a thorough understanding of the intermolecular interactions that control the self‐assembly and consequent architecture of the material and its bulk properties.…”

Engineering responsive supramolecular biomaterials: Toward smart therapeutics

“…Ultrasound has also been used as a dissipative force or thermodynamic accelerator in controlling supramolecular structures. For example, ultrasound can be used to overcome kinetic barriers and enable reversible reconfiguration of a peptide nanostructure, promote disassembly of supramolecular micellar structures, or induce reversible polymerization or gelation in a supramolecular material . The clinical use of high‐intensity focused ultrasound suggests that ultrasound‐mediated control of supramolecular materials could have broad relevance for therapeutic application, and this approach certainly warrants further consideration in designing “smart” therapies.…”