Ultrasmall peptides self-assemble into diverse nanostructures: Morphological evaluation and potential implications anupama

Anupama Lakshmanan, Charlotte A.E. Hauser

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

31 Scopus citations

Abstract

In this study, we perform a morphological evaluation of the diverse nanostructures formed by varying concentration and amino acid sequence of a unique class of ultrasmall self-assembling peptides. We modified these peptides by replacing the aliphatic amino acid at the C-aliphatic terminus with different aromatic amino acids. We tracked the effect of introducing aromatic residues on self-assembly and morphology of resulting nanostructures. Whereas aliphatic peptides formed long, helical fibers that entangle into meshes and entrap >99.9% water, the modified peptides contrastingly formed short, straight fibers with a flat morphology. No helical fibers were observed for the modified peptides. For the aliphatic peptides at low concentrations, different supramolecular assemblies such as hollow nanospheres and membrane blebs were found. Since the ultrasmall peptides are made of simple, aliphatic amino acids, considered to have existed in the primordial soup, study of these supramolecular assemblies could be relevant to understanding chemical evolution leading to the origin of life on Earth. In particular, we propose a variety of potential applications in bioengineering and nanotechnology for the diverse self-assembled nanostructures.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)5736-5746
Number of pages11
JournalInternational journal of molecular sciences
Volume12
Issue number9
DOIs
StatePublished - Sep 2011
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Bioengineering
  • Nanotechnology
  • Origin of life
  • Self-assembly
  • Supramolecular structures
  • Ultrasmall peptides

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Catalysis
  • Molecular Biology
  • Spectroscopy
  • Computer Science Applications
  • Physical and Theoretical Chemistry
  • Organic Chemistry
  • Inorganic Chemistry

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