Cooperative dissolution of peptidomimetic vesicles and amyloid β fibrils.

The aggregation of amyloid proteins in the brain is a significant neurotoxic event that contributes to neurodegenerative disorders. The aggregation of amyloid beta (Aβ), particularly Aβ42 monomers, into various forms such as oligomers, protofibrils, fibrils, and amyloid plaques is a key pathological feature in Alzheimer's disease. As a result, Aβ42 is a primary target and the development of molecular strategies for the dissolution of Aβ42 aggregates is considered a promising approach to mitigating Alzheimer's disease pathology.

Fabrication of soft-nanocomposites from functional molecules with diversified applications.

With the increasing demand for new soft materials having excellent physical and biological characteristics and functionality, the design of hybrid materials offers a simple, yet versatile platform for the development of materials with specific and tunable properties. By definition a "soft-nanocomposite" is the combination of supramolecular self-assemblies with nanomaterials of different origins (inorganic/metallic nanoparticles and carbonaceous allotropes like carbon nanotubes and graphene) through covalent/non-covalent interactions. Dynamic supramolecular self-assemblies can serve as excellent hosts for the incorporation of these dimensionally different nanomaterials.

Metal Ion (Fe and Co) Induced Morphological Transformation of Self-Aggregates of Cholesterol-Tethered Bipyridine Amphiphiles: Selective Cancer Cell Killing by Pro-Drug Activation.

Design and development of diverse supramolecular self-assemblies from a single amphiphilic molecule has always been challenging, and it can have prospects in different task-specific applications. The present study reports the formation of different morphologies of self-aggregates by the inclusion of transition metals that are biologically more relevant due to their participation in biochemical reactions. A cholesterol-tethered bipyridine-appended amphiphile (CBB) has been synthesized that spontaneously formed vesicles in a 2:1 DMSO-water (v/v) solvent mixture.

Self-assembly of surface functionalized amphiphilic carbon dots: tuning in morphological manifestations.

Despite the continuous surge of interest in supramolecular chemistry, the design and synthesis of building blocks to develop diverse examples of self-assemblies is still challenging. During the past decades, formation of self-assemblies such as micelles, vesicles, and gels with a fibril network using amphiphiles has been investigated at length. Considering the increasing applications of these self-aggregates across the scientific domain, it is crucial to adopt an alternative strategy for the preparation of self-aggregates using a new building block that has been applied in diverse domains.

Morphological transformation of self-assemblies by tuning hydrophobic segment of small amphiphiles.

Hypothesis: With increasing surge in the development of supramolecular self-assemblies, it is crucial to predict the influence of amphiphilic segment in dictating the morphology of self-aggregates. This article reports the design and synthesis of low molecular weight amphiphiles with varying hydrophobicity both in the spacer unit and at the terminal moiety.

Experiments: Hydrophobicity at the spacer moiety was modulated by altering alkyl chain length and by inclusion of aromatic ring and the same was changed at hydrophobic terminal using pyrene, naphthalene, n-hexadecane having 2-aminopyridine as polar head.

Glucose oxidase mediated targeted cancer-starving therapy by biotinylated self-assembled vesicles.

Herein, we demonstrate glucose oxidase (GOx) mediated targeted cancer-starving therapy by self-assembled vesicle of trimesic acid based biotinylated amphiphile (TMB). The TMB vesicles entrapped GOx and selectively killed cancer cells (HeLa, B16F10), with ∼6-fold higher efficiency compared to non-cancer cells (CHO, NIH3T3), by blocking the energy supply to tumors through the oxidation of intracellular glucose.

Vesicle formation by cholesterol based hydrazone tethered amphiphiles: Stimuli responsive dissipation of self-assembly.

Stimuli are one of the key parameters to achieve a control over the association/dissociation of molecular tectons in self-assemblies. In this present article, we synthesized cholesterol based pH-sensitive hydrazone-tailored low molecular mass amphiphiles (CBH-1-3). The hydrazone residue was modified by varying the carbonyl moieties from aldehyde (benzaldehyde (CBH-1), p-dimethylaminobenzaldehyde (CBH-2)) to ketone (benzophenone (CBH-3)).

Tailor-Made Self-Assemblies from Functionalized Amphiphiles: Diversity and Applications.

The objective of this feature article is to coalesce our recent advancements on different expressions of tailor-made supramolecular self-assemblies and to explore them as a function of molecular architecture. In the last decade, we have developed a library of elegant and simple functional amphiphilic small molecules, which have very interesting abilities to form diverse manifestations of supramolecular self-assemblies such as micelles, reverse micelles, vesicles, fibers, supramolecular gels, and so on. Each of the expressions of the self-aggregated structures has its individual prominence and finds important applications in the fields of chemistry, physics, biology, and others.

Self-Assembled Vesicle-Carbon Nanotube Conjugate Formation through a Boronate-Diol Covalent Linkage.

A vesicle-single walled carbon nanotube (CNT) conjugate was developed by a boronic acid-diol covalent linkage between a self-assembled vesicle and dispersed CNT. Trimesic acid based phenylboronic acid appended triple-tailed amphiphiles (T1 and T1S) were synthesized that formed monolayered vesicles through H-aggregation in DMSO-water (2:1 v/v) and pure water, respectively. Aqueous CNT dispersion was prepared with cholesterol-based glucose-functionalized amphiphile (D1).

Solvent Induced Morphological Evolution of Cholesterol Based Glucose Tailored Amphiphiles: Transformation from Vesicles to Nanoribbons.

Supramolecular self-assembly of low molecular mass amphiphiles is of topical interest with the urge to achieve precise control over the formation of various self-aggregated structures. Particularly, fabrication of multifarious nanostructures from single molecular backbone would be highly advantageous for task specific applications of the self-aggregates. To this end, the present study reports the solvent triggered evolution of hierarchical self-assembled structures of cholesterol based glucose appended amphiphiles and the pathway of structural transition.

Spontaneous Formation of a Vesicular Assembly by a Trimesic Acid Based Triple Tailed Amphiphile.

Trimesic acid based amino acid functionalized triple tailed amphiphiles (TMA-1 and TMA-2) were synthesized. The triskelion amphiphile TMA-1 with a neutral side chain self-assembled into a vesicle in 2:1 (v/v) DMSO-water, while the ammonium side chain decorated TMA-2 formed vesicles in pure water. Microscopic and spectroscopic characterizations were carried out to confirm the self-aggregated vesicular morphology and its size which is around 250-300 nm in the case of TMA-1 and around 100-150 nm for TMA-2 vesicles.