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Biomimetic Self‐Assembly of Tetrapeptides into Fibrillar Networks and Organogels
Author(s) -
Iqbal Sajid,
Miravet Juan F.,
Escuder Beatriu
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
european journal of organic chemistry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.825
H-Index - 155
eISSN - 1099-0690
pISSN - 1434-193X
DOI - 10.1002/ejoc.200800547
Subject(s) - antiparallel (mathematics) , chemistry , circular dichroism , crystallography , scanning electron microscope , self assembly , fourier transform infrared spectroscopy , alkyl , chemical engineering , stereochemistry , organic chemistry , materials science , composite material , physics , quantum mechanics , magnetic field , engineering
The self‐assembly features of a family of tetrapeptides with a silk‐inspired structure are presented. An exhaustive study of the influence of the terminal alkyl chain length in this process is undertaken. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), wide‐angle X‐ray diffraction (WAXD), FTIR spectroscopy, and circular dichroism were used for structural analysis. These compounds, as in the natural model, self‐assemble into antiparallel β‐sheet structures that further organize to form fibrillar aggregates. Furthermore, some of them arecapable of forming a crowded network that entraps thesolvent leading to physical gels with different microscopic morphologies. A model for the assembly process is proposed.(© Wiley‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, 69451 Weinheim, Germany, 2008)