Complex Pathways Drive Pluripotent Fmoc-Leucine Self-Assemblies.

Nature uses complex self-assembly pathways to access distinct functional non-equilibrium self-assemblies. This remarkable ability to steer same set of biomolecules into different self-assembly states is done by avoiding thermodynamic pit. In synthetic systems, on demand control over 'Pathway Complexity' to access self-assemblies different from equilibrium structures remains challenging.

Lysine-based non-cytotoxic ultrashort self-assembling peptides with antimicrobial activity.

Peptide-based molecules and their hydrogels are useful materials for biomedical applications due to the reversible nature of their self-assembly as well as the diversity of nanostructures that can be created starting from low-molecular weight compounds. In this study, we have focused on comprehending the characteristics of fibrillar networks of l-lysine-based self-assembled dipeptide hydrogels with a focus on their antibacterial properties. For that purpose, l-lysine has been complemented with hydrophobic aromatic moieties coming from l-phenylalanine and benzyloxyxarbonyl N-capping.

Effect of Hyaluronic Acid on the Self-Assembly of a Dipeptide-Based Supramolecular Gel.

The combination of polymers and low molecular weight (LMW) compounds is a powerful approach to prepare new supramolecular materials. Here we prepare two-component hydrogels made by a well-known and biologically active polymer, hyaluronic acid (HA), and a dipeptide-based supramolecular gelator. We undertake a detailed study of materials with different compositions including macroscopic (hydrogel formation, rheology) and micro/nanoscopic characterization (electron microscopy, X-ray powder diffraction).

Impact of core-shell perovskite nanocrystals for LED applications: successes, challenges, and prospects.

Perovskite nanocrystals (PeNCs) synthesized by colloidal solution methods are an outstanding case of study due to their remarkable optical features, different from their bulk counterpart, such as a tuneable band gap and narrower photoluminescence emission, altered by the size and shape. However, the stability of these systems needs to be improved to consolidate their application in optoelectronic devices. Improved PeNC quality is associated with a less defective structure, as it affects negatively the photoluminescence quantum yield (PLQY), due to the essential, but at the same time labile interaction between the colloidal capping ligands and the perovskite core.

A minimalistic catalytically-active cell mimetic made of a supra-molecular hydrogel encapsulated into a polymersome.

A minimalistic multicomponent cell mimetic is described consisting of a fibrillar network formed by the self-assembly of a low molecular weight compound (cytoskeleton-like) that is entrapped into a polymersome (membrane-like), namely a jelly-polymersome. A simple imidazole-appended hydrogelator is used in order to obtain a catalytic nanoreactor able to hydrolyze an ester within the compartment in its self-assembled state.