A self-assembly pathway to aligned monodomain gels.
Nat Mater
; 9(7): 594-601, 2010 Jul.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-20543836
ABSTRACT
Aggregates of charged amphiphilic molecules have been found to access a structure at elevated temperature that templates alignment of supramolecular fibrils over macroscopic scales. The thermal pathway leads to a lamellar plaque structure with fibrous texture that breaks on cooling into large arrays of aligned nanoscale fibres and forms a strongly birefringent liquid. By manually dragging this liquid crystal from a pipette onto salty media, it is possible to extend this alignment over centimetres in noodle-shaped viscoelastic strings. Using this approach, the solution of supramolecular filaments can be mixed with cells at physiological temperatures to form monodomain gels of aligned cells and filaments. The nature of the self-assembly process and its biocompatibility would allow formation of cellular wires in situ that have any length and customized peptide compositions for use in biological applications.
Texto completo:
1
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Peptídeos
/
Géis
Tipo de estudo:
Risk_factors_studies
Limite:
Humans
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Nat Mater
Assunto da revista:
CIENCIA
/
QUIMICA
Ano de publicação:
2010
Tipo de documento:
Article
País de afiliação:
Estados Unidos