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Computationally designed 29-residue peptides yield tetra-α-helical bundles with symmetry. The "bundlemers" can be bifunctionally linked via thiol-maleimide cross-links at their N-termini, yielding supramolecular polymers with unusually large, micrometer-scale persistence lengths. To provide a molecularly resolved understanding of these systems, all-atom molecular modeling and simulations of linked bundlemers in explicit solvent are presented. A search over relative orientations of the bundlemers identifies a structure, wherein at the bundlemer-bundlemer interface, interior hydrophobic residues are in contact, and α-helices are aligned with a pseudocontiguous α-helix that spans the interface. Calculation of a potential of mean force confirms that the structure in which the bundlemers are in contact and colinearly aligned is a stable minimum. Analyses of hydrogen bonds and hydrophobic complementarity highlight the complementary interactions at the interface. The molecular insight provided reveals the molecular origins of bundlemer alignment within the supramolecular polymers.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpcb.4c06403 | DOI Listing |
Adv Mater
September 2025
School of Biomedical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, P. R. China.
Liquid crystal elastomers (LCEs) are important soft actuators that show strong promise in many fields where traditional rigid actuators or robotics are impractical. However, their real-world applications are lacking primarily due to inadequate actuation performance and complicated fabrication processes. Here, a novel design is reported that significantly enhances actuation performance while simplifying the fabrication process.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFChem Sci
August 2025
Department of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay Powai Mumbai - 400076 India
The supramolecular organization of functional molecules at the mesoscopic level influences their material properties. Typically, planar π-conjugated (disc- or linear-shaped) molecules tend to undergo one-dimensional (1D) stacking, whereas two-dimensional (2D) organization from such building blocks is seldom observed in spite of their technological potential. Herein, we rationally achieve both 1D and 2D organizations from a single planar, π-conjugated molecular system competitive interactions.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFProc Natl Acad Sci U S A
September 2025
Institute for Complex Molecular Systems, Eindhoven University of Technology, Eindhoven 5600 MB, The Netherlands.
Multivalent binding and the resulting dynamical clustering of receptors and ligands are known to be key features in biological interactions. For optimizing biomaterials capable of similar dynamical features, it is essential to understand the first step of these interactions, namely the multivalent molecular recognition between ligands and cell receptors. Here, we present the reciprocal cooperation between dynamic ligands in supramolecular polymers and dynamic receptors in model cell membranes, determining molecular recognition and multivalent binding via receptor clustering.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBiomacromolecules
September 2025
Department of Fibre and Polymer Technology, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Teknikringen 58, Stockholm 10044, Sweden.
Lignin, traditionally considered a low-value byproduct of the pulp and paper industry, has gained significant attention in recent years as a sustainable precursor for the development of functional materials. This paradigm shift is driven by recent studies exploring the structure-property-performance relationships of lignin-based functional materials, which have provided valuable insights for selective chemical functionalization or pretreatment of lignin. Furthermore, the use of complementary analytical techniques has helped to shed light into lignin's complex and heterogeneous structure, opening new avenues for chemical modification.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAngew Chem Int Ed Engl
September 2025
Institute of Pharmaceutical Science, King's College London, Franklin Wilkins Building, Stamford Street, London, SE1 9NH, UK.
As supramolecular assemblies, polypseudorotaxanes (PPR) exhibit inherent advantages in modular adaptability and structural programmability, with the potential to build tuneable platforms integrating various functionalities. Here we report the "one-pot" preparation of a self-assembled thiol-rich PPR (SPPR), where thiolated-α-cyclodextrins (SHαCD) spontaneously thread onto polymers, and are then crosslinked into a three-dimensional network by the thermally-triggered oxidation of thiols into disulfide bonds. The dynamic thiol groups along the SPPR provide remarkable modularity for the functionalization of thiophilic metal nanoparticles (NPs), exemplified by two application vectors.
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