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Supramolecular Virus‐Like Nanorods by Coassembly of a Triblock Polypeptide and Reversible Coordination Polymers
Author(s) -
HernandezGarcia Armando,
Velders Aldrik H.,
Stuart Martien A. Cohen,
de Vries Renko,
van Lent Jan W. M.,
Wang Junyou
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
chemistry – a european journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.687
H-Index - 242
eISSN - 1521-3765
pISSN - 0947-6539
DOI - 10.1002/chem.201603968
Subject(s) - nanorod , supramolecular chemistry , polymer , coordination polymer , materials science , supramolecular polymers , nanotechnology , chemistry , crystallography , crystal structure , composite material
We investigate a new case of a self‐assembly‐stimulated self‐assembly in which a triblock polypeptide is combined with a anionic coordination polymer of a dipicolinic acid bis‐ligand, and d‐ or f‐ block metal ions like Zn II or Eu III . The polypeptide not only has a silk‐like domain that can fold and stack, but also a C‐terminal cationic sequence by which it can interact with the supramolecular (coordination) polyanion. In the presence of all three ingredients (polypeptide, bis‐ligand, and metal ions), we observe the initiation and slow growth of well‐defined metal‐containing nanorods of up to 150 nm in length, proving that self‐assembly of the polypeptide is triggered by the self‐assembly of the coordination polyelectrolyte and vice versa. The particles, which have a striking resemblance to rod‐like viruses, are stable up to 1.2 m NaCl, and can be made fluorescent when lanthanides like Eu III are used, showing the potential to exploit functional properties and applications of virus‐like supramolecular structures.