Forging out-of-equilibrium supramolecular gels.

The design of supramolecular hydrogels comprising aligned domains is important for the fabrication of biomimetic materials and applications in optoelectronics. One way to access such materials is by the self-assembly of small molecules into long fibres, which can be aligned using an external stimulus. Out-of-equilibrium supramolecular gels can also be designed, where pre-programmed changes of state can be induced by the addition of chemical fuels.

A biocompatible supramolecular hydrogel mesh for sample stabilization in light microscopy and nanoscopy.

Most embedding media for live and fixed samples were not designed for microscopy and have issues including long polymerization times, peak of toxicity toward the sample during the sol-gel transition, and irreversibility of this transition. Gels derived from biological sources are widely used in microscopy, but their precise composition is ill-defined and can vary between batches. Non-physiological temperatures and/or specific enzymatic solutions are often needed to revert the gel back to the sol state to allow sample recovery.

Investigating the self-assembly of 2NapFF and ureido-pyrimidinone multicomponent systems for cell culture.

Low molecular weight gels are formed the self-assembly of small molecules into fibrous structures. In the case of hydrogels, these networks entrap large volumes of water, yielding soft materials. Such gels tend to have weak mechanical properties and a high permeability for cells, making them particularly appealing for regenerative medicine applications.

Mechanical release of homogenous proteins from supramolecular gels.

A long-standing challenge is how to formulate proteins and vaccines to retain function during storage and transport and to remove the burdens of cold-chain management. Any solution must be practical to use, with the protein being released or applied using clinically relevant triggers. Advanced biologic therapies are distributed cold, using substantial energy, limiting equitable distribution in low-resource countries and placing responsibility on the user for correct storage and handling.

Metal Cross-Linked Supramolecular Gel Noodles: Structural Insights and Antibacterial Assessment.

Achieving precise control over gelator alignment and morphology is crucial for crafting tailored materials and supramolecular structures with distinct properties. We successfully aligned the self-assembled micelles formed by a functionalized dipeptide 2NapFF into long 1-D "gel noodles" by cross-linking with divalent metal chlorides. We identify the most effective cross-linker for alignment, enhancing mechanical stability, and imparting functional properties.

Nanoscale assembly of enantiomeric supramolecular gels driven by the nature of solvents.

Understanding the key parameters that control the self-assembly process is critical to predict self-assembly modes in multi-component systems, which will lead to the development of nanofibrous materials with tuneable properties. Enantiomeric amino acid-based low-molecular-weight gelators (LMWGs) were mixed in polar (polar protic) and aromatic apolar (aromatic) solvents and compared to their individual counterparts to probe the effect of solvent polarity on the self-assembly process. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) reveals that xerogels of individual components display hollow needles in polar protic solvents, while chiral coils are observed in aromatic solvents.

Soft Materials with Time-Programmed Changes in Physical Properties through Lyotropic Phase Transitions Induced by pH-Changing Reactions.

We present the development of time-programmable functional soft materials. The materials undergo reversible phase transitions between lyotropic phases with different topologies and symmetries, which in turn have very different physical properties: viscosity, diffusion, and optical transparency. Here, this behavior is achieved by combining pH-responsive lyotropic phases made from the lipid monoolein doped with 10% oleic acid, with chemical reactions that have well-defined controllable kinetics: autocatalytic urea-urease and methyl formate hydrolysis, which increase and decrease pH, respectively.

Atomic structures of naphthalene dipeptide micelles unravel mechanisms of assembly and gelation.

Peptide-based biopolymers have gained increasing attention due to their versatile applications. A naphthalene dipeptide (2NapFF) can form chirality-dependent tubular micelles, leading to supramolecular gels. The precise molecular arrangement within these micelles and the mechanism governing gelation have remained enigmatic.

Correction: Multi-layer 3D printed dipeptide-based low molecular weight gels.

Correction for 'Multi-layer 3D printed dipeptide-based low molecular weight gels' by Max J. S. Hill , , 2022, , 5960-5965, https://doi.

Effect of Imposing Spatial Constraints on Low Molecular Weight Gels.

We outline the effect of imposing spatial constraints during gelation on hydrogels formed by dipeptide-based low molecular weight gelators. The gels were formed via either a solvent switch or a change in pH and formed in different sized vessels to produce gels of different thickness while maintaining the same volume. The different methods of gelation led to gels with different underlying microstructure.

Investigating multigelator systems across multiple length scales.

Preparation of multicomponent systems provides a method for changing the properties of low molecular weight gelator (LMWG)-based systems. Here we have prepared a variety of multicomponent systems where both components are -functionalised dipeptide-based LMWGs that may either co-assemble or self-sort when mixed. We exemplify how varying the concentration ratio of the two components can be used to tune the properties of the multicomponent systems pre-gelation, during gelation and in the gel state using viscosity and rheology measurements, circular dichroism, NMR and small angle neutron scattering.

Self-Sorting in Diastereomeric Mixtures of Functionalized Dipeptides.

Self-sorting in functionalized dipeptide systems can be driven by the chirality of a single amino acid, both at a high pH in the micellar state and at a low pH in the gel state. The structures formed are affected to some degree by the relative concentrations of each component showing the complexity of such an approach. The structures underpinning the gel network are predefined by the micellar structures at a high pH.

Photothermal Perylene Bisimide Hydrogels.

Gels formed using a perylene bisimide (PBI) as a low molecular weight gelator can show the photothermal effect. Formation of the PBI radical anion results in new absorption bands forming, meaning that subsequent irradiation with a wavelength of light overlapping with the new absorption band leads to heating of the gel. This approach can be used to heat the gel, as well as the surrounding milieu.

Hierarchical Composite Self-Sorted Supramolecular Gel Noodles.

Multicomponent supramolecular systems can be used to achieve different properties and new behaviors compared to their corresponding single component systems. Here, a two-component system is used, showing that a non-gelling component modifies the assembly of the gelling component, allowing access to co-assembled structures that cannot be formed from the gelling component alone. The systems are characterized across multiple length scales, from the molecular level by NMR and CD spectroscopy to the microstructure level by SANS and finally to the material level using nanoindentation and rheology.

Transferring Micellar Changes to Bulk Properties via Tunable Self-Assembly and Hierarchical Ordering.

Hierarchical self-assembly is an effective means of preparing useful materials. However, control over assembly across length scales is a difficult challenge, often confounded by the perceived need to redesign the molecular building blocks when new material properties are needed. Here, we show that we can treat a simple dipeptide building block as a polyelectrolyte and use polymer physics approaches to explain the self-assembly over a wide concentration range.

Controlled Annealing in Adaptive Multicomponent Gels.

We use a pH-driven annealing process to convert between co-assembled and self-sorted networks in multicomponent gels. The initially formed gels at low pH are co-assembled, with the two components coexisting within the same self-assembled structures. We use an enzymatic approach to increase the pH, resulting in a gel-to-sol transition, followed by a hydrolysis to lower the pH once again.

Correction: Fmoc-diphenylalanine hydrogels: understanding the variability in reported mechanical properties.

Correction for 'Fmoc-diphenylalanine hydrogels: understanding the variability in reported mechanical properties' by Jaclyn Raeburn , , 2012, , 1168-1174, https://doi.org/10.1039/C1SM06929B.

Charge screening wormlike micelles affects extensional relaxation time and noodle formation.

A functionalised dipeptide that self-assembles to form wormlike micelles at high pH can be treated as a surfactant. By varying salt concentration, the self-assembled structures and interactions between them change, resulting in solutions with very different shear and extensional viscosity. From these, gel noodles with different mechanical properties can be prepared.

Spatiotemporal Control Over Base-Catalyzed Hydrogelation Using a Bilayer System.

Controlling the formation and directional growth of hydrogels is a challenge. In this paper, a new methodology to program the gel formation both over space and time is proposed, using the diffusion and subsequent hydrolysis of 1,1'-carbonyldiimidazole from an immiscible organic solution to the aqueous gel media.

Investigating Aggregation Using In Situ Electrochemistry and Small-Angle Neutron Scattering.

Using small-angle neutron scattering to investigate the aggregation of self-assembling molecules is well established. Some of these molecules are electrochemically useful, for example, in electrochromic devices. Electrochemistry can also be used in some cases to induce aggregation.

Multi-layer 3D printed dipeptide-based low molecular weight gels.

We describe the direct 3D printing of dipeptide hydrogels, forming layers from gels prepared from different dipeptides. The dipeptides self-assemble into fibres that lead to very different microstructures letting us differentiate between the gels. We show how the mechanical properties of the overall 3D printed structures are affected by the composition of each of the layers, allowing us to build up structures with different microstructure and stiffness.

Cell Sorter Cleaning Practices and Their Impact on Instrument Sterility.

Cells isolated using electrostatic cell sorters are subsequently evaluated in a variety of in vitro and in vivo applications. Thus, manipulations to the cells during the pre- and post-sort processing as well as when the cells are being analyzed by and passing through the sorter fluidics has the potential to affect the experimental results. There are many variables to consider when seeking to preserve cellular integrity and function during the cell-sorting process.

Minimalistic ice recrystallisation inhibitors based on phenylalanine.

Ice recrystallisation inhibition (IRI) is typically associated with ice binding proteins, but polymers and other mimetics are emerging. Here we identify phenylalanine as a minimalistic, yet potent, small-molecule IRI capable of inhibiting ice growth at just 1 mg mL. Facial amphiphilicity is shown to be a crucial structural feature, with -substituents enhancing (hydrophobic) or decreasing (hydrophilic) IRI activity.