Selective coassembly of aromatic amino acids to fabricate hydrogels with light irradiation-induced emission for fluorescent imprint

• Main Authors: Xing, Pengyao, Chen, Hongzhong, Xiang, Huijing, Zhao, Yanli
• Other Authors: School of Materials Science & Engineering
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: 2020
• Subjects: Science::Chemistry; Aromatic Amino Acids; Coassembly
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/138990
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Controlling the structural parameters in coassembly is crucial for the fabrication of multicomponent functional materials. Here a proof-of-concept study is presented to reveal the α-substituent effect of aromatic amino acids on their selective coassembly with bipyridine binders. With the assistance of X-ray scattering technique, it is found that individual packing in the solid state as well as bulky effect brought by α-substitution determines the occurrence of coassembly. A well-performed hydrogels based on the complexation between certain aromatic amino acids and bipyridine units are successfully constructed, providing unprecedented smart materials with light irradiation-triggered luminescence. Such hydrogels without the phase separation and photobleaching during light irradiation are able to behave fluorescent imprint materials. This study provides a suitable protocol in rationally designing amino acid residues of short peptides for fabricating self-assembled multicomponent materials. In addition, this protocol is useful in screening potential functional materials on account of diverse self-assembly behavior.