Title
Self-assembly of supramolecular chemoenzymatic poly-l-phenylalanine
Date Issued
07 March 2021
Access level
open access
Resource Type
journal article
Author(s)
Romero-Montero A.
Aguirre-Díaz I.S.
Puiggalí J.
Gimeno M.
Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya
Publisher(s)
Royal Society of Chemistry
Abstract
The self-assembly behavior of chemoenzymatic high molecular weight (ca. 30 000 Da) poly-l-phenylalanine (ePLP) and the nano-morphologies thereof are investigated. Interestingly, this supramolecular ePLP changes from a non-ordered secondary structure when solubilized in water to an α-helix with the addition of only 1 vol% HFIP co-solvent, and at a relatively low concentration (0.5 mg mL-1). The results also indicate a temperature-dependent structural stabilization, wherein the self-assembly process is mainly governed by hydrogen bonding. The analyses evidence self-assembly under controlled conditions to obtain nanotubes with an average diameter of 0.21 ± 0.04 μm, and above 100 μm length. Microbeam synchrotron radiation infrared (SRIR) spectroscopy demonstrates parallel orientations of the amide moieties in the α-helical structure, which is extraordinary for this long chain ePLP. The achievement of these highly homogeneous nanotubes is relevant since previous reports only demonstrated this arrangement for end-capped F-moc-containing short oligophenylalanines. In the same way, the conductivity behaviors of the nanotubular structure remained unchanged in the range of 273-313 K demonstrating its stability from hydrogen bonds, and also, direct dielectric measurements reveal a high orientation and stabilization by intra- and intermolecular hydrogen bonds in the nanotubes. These characteristics allow drug delivery assays with tetracycline-loaded nanotubes and further applications are envisaged.
Start page
1199
End page
1209
Volume
12
Issue
9
Language
English
OCDE Knowledge area
Ingeniería química
Scopus EID
2-s2.0-85102471290
Source
Polymer Chemistry
ISSN of the container
17599954
Sponsor(s)
The authors acknowledge the support from PAPIIT (IN200520) and CONACyT for the scholarship (A. R.-M. #336576). Luis J. del Valle and Jordi Puiggalí are grateful to a grant (RTI2018-101827-B-100) from MINECO.
Sources of information: Directorio de Producción Científica Scopus