Application of “Magnetic Anchors” to Align Collagen Fibres for Axonal Guidance

The use of neural scaffolds with a highly defined microarchitecture, fabricated with standard techniques such as electrospinning and microfluidic spinning, requires surgery for their application to the site of injury. To circumvent the risk associated with aciurgy, new strategies for treatment are sought. This has led to an increase in the quantity of research into injectable hydrogels in recent years. However, little research has been conducted into controlling the building blocks within these injectable hydrogels to produce similar scaffolds with a highly defined microarchitecture. “Magnetic particle string” and biomimetic amphiphile self-assembly are some of the methods currently available to achieve this purpose. Here, we developed a “magnetic anchor” method to improve the orientation of collagen fibres within injectable 3D scaffolds. This procedure uses GMNP (gold magnetic nanoparticle) “anchors” capped with CMPs (collagen mimetic peptides) that “chain” them to collagen fibres. Through the application of a magnetic field during the gelling process, these collagen fibres are aligned accordingly. It was shown in this study that the application of CMP functionalised GMNPs in a magnetic field significantly improves the alignment of the collagen fibres, which, in turn, improves the orientation of PC12 neurites. The growth of these neurite extensions, which were shown to be significantly longer, was also improved. The PC12 cells grown in collagen scaffolds fabricated using the “magnetic anchor” method shows comparable cellular viability to that of the untreated collagen scaffolds. This capability of remote control of the alignment of fibres within injectable collagen scaffolds opens up new strategic avenues in the research for treating debilitating neural tissue pathologies.

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Fabrication of 3D Photonic Crystals of Non-Magnetic Ellipsoids with Different Aspect Ratio

Advanced Materials Research ◽

10.4028/www.scientific.net/amr.760-762.405 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 760-762 ◽

pp. 405-408

Author(s):

Kuan Huang ◽

Gui Qiang Liu ◽

Yuan Hao Chen

Keyword(s):

Magnetic Field ◽

Glass Transition ◽

Photonic Crystals ◽

Self Assembly ◽

Building Blocks ◽

Long Range Order ◽

Vertical Deposition ◽

Aspect Ratios ◽

Assembly Method ◽

Assembly Procedure

This paper introduces a method of preparation of photonic crystals with non-magnetic ellipsoid as building blocks. Under the condition of above its glass-transition temperature, monodispersed polystyrene (PS) spheres with the diameter of 260 nm and 360 nm were respectively elastic stretched by applying external force with different values to get different ellipsoids with different aspect ratios. The assembly procedure was carried out by applying the vertical deposition self-assembly method in a magnetic field under the guidance of magnetic fluids. In this paper, We report the crystalline structure with long range order.

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Crafting of functional biomaterials by directed molecular self-assembly of triple helical peptide building blocks

Interface Focus ◽

10.1098/rsfs.2016.0138 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 7 (6) ◽

pp. 20160138 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Jayati Banerjee ◽

Helena S. Azevedo

Keyword(s):

Self Assembly ◽

Large Scale ◽

Matrix Protein ◽

Building Blocks ◽

The Body ◽

Extracellular Matrix Protein ◽

Macromolecular Assemblies ◽

Imino Acid ◽

Helical Peptide ◽

Collagen Mimetic Peptides

Collagen is the most abundant extracellular matrix protein in the body and has widespread use in biomedical research, as well as in clinics. In addition to difficulties in the production of recombinant collagen due to its high non-natural imino acid content, animal-derived collagen imposes several major drawbacks—variability in composition, immunogenicity, pathogenicity and difficulty in sequence modification—that may limit its use in the practical scenario. However, in recent years, scientists have shifted their attention towards developing synthetic collagen-like materials from simple collagen model triple helical peptides to eliminate the potential drawbacks. For this purpose, it is highly desirable to develop programmable self-assembling strategies that will initiate the hierarchical self-assembly of short peptides into large-scale macromolecular assemblies with recommendable bioactivity. Herein, we tried to elaborate our understanding related to the strategies that have been adopted by few research groups to trigger self-assembly in the triple helical peptide system producing fascinating supramolecular structures. We have also touched upon the major epitopes within collagen that can be incorporated into collagen mimetic peptides for promoting bioactivity.

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Factors Affecting Molecular Self-Assembly and Its Mechanism

Scientific Research Journal ◽

10.24191/srj.v9i1.5385 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 9 (1) ◽

pp. 43 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Hueyling Tan

Keyword(s):

Self Assembly ◽

Building Blocks ◽

Molecular Engineering ◽

Molecular Structures ◽

Polymer Science ◽

New Approach ◽

Factors Affecting ◽

Dna Structures ◽

Self Assembling ◽

Wide Range

Molecular self-assembly is ubiquitous in nature and has emerged as a new approach to produce new materials in chemistry, engineering, nanotechnology, polymer science and materials. Molecular self-assembly has been attracting increasing interest from the scientific community in recent years due to its importance in understanding biology and a variety of diseases at the molecular level. In the last few years, considerable advances have been made in the use ofpeptides as building blocks to produce biological materials for wide range of applications, including fabricating novel supra-molecular structures and scaffolding for tissue repair. The study ofbiological self-assembly systems represents a significant advancement in molecular engineering and is a rapidly growing scientific and engineering field that crosses the boundaries ofexisting disciplines. Many self-assembling systems are rangefrom bi- andtri-block copolymers to DNA structures as well as simple and complex proteins andpeptides. The ultimate goal is to harness molecular self-assembly such that design andcontrol ofbottom-up processes is achieved thereby enabling exploitation of structures developed at the meso- and macro-scopic scale for the purposes oflife and non-life science applications. Such aspirations can be achievedthrough understanding thefundamental principles behind the selforganisation and self-synthesis processes exhibited by biological systems.

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A Bottom-Up Approach to Solution-Processed, Atomically Precise Graphitic Cylinders on Surfaces

10.26434/chemrxiv.7158959 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Erik Leonhardt ◽

Jeff M. Van Raden ◽

David Miller ◽

Lev N. Zakharov ◽

Benjamin Aleman ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Self Assembly ◽

Carbon Nanostructures ◽

Carbon Nanomaterials ◽

Circle Packing ◽

Pyrolytic Graphite ◽

Building Blocks ◽

Bottom Up ◽

Casting Technique ◽

New Class ◽

Solution Casting Technique

Extended carbon nanostructures, such as carbon nanotubes (CNTs), exhibit remarkable properties but are difficult to synthesize uniformly. Herein, we present a new class of carbon nanomaterials constructed via the bottom-up self-assembly of cylindrical, atomically-precise small molecules. Guided by supramolecular design principles and circle packing theory, we have designed and synthesized a fluorinated nanohoop that, in the solid-state, self-assembles into nanotube-like arrays with channel diameters of precisely 1.63 nm. A mild solution-casting technique is then used to construct vertical “forests” of these arrays on a highly-ordered pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) surface through epitaxial growth. Furthermore, we show that a basic property of nanohoops, fluorescence, is readily transferred to the bulk phase, implying that the properties of these materials can be directly altered via precise functionalization of their nanohoop building blocks. The strategy presented is expected to have broader applications in the development of new graphitic nanomaterials with π-rich cavities reminiscent of CNTs.

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Reversible microscale assembly of nanoparticles driven by the phase transition of a thermotropic liquid crystal

10.26434/chemrxiv.5691169 ◽

2017 ◽

Author(s):

Niamh Mac Fhionnlaoich ◽

Stephen Schrettl ◽

Nicholas B. Tito ◽

Ye Yang ◽

Malavika Nair ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Phase Transition ◽

Liquid Crystal ◽

Self Assembly ◽

Nematic Phase ◽

Hierarchical Control ◽

Building Blocks ◽

Model System ◽

Microscopic Level ◽

Reversible Process ◽

Thermotropic Liquid Crystal

The arrangement of nanoscale building blocks into patterns with microscale periodicity is challenging to achieve via self-assembly processes. Here, we report on the phase transition-driven collective assembly of gold nanoparticles in a thermotropic liquid crystal. A temperature-induced transition from the isotropic to the nematic phase leads to the assembly of individual nanometre-sized particles into arrays of micrometre-sized aggregates, whose size and characteristic spacing can be tuned by varying the cooling rate. This fully reversible process offers hierarchical control over structural order on the molecular, nanoscopic, and microscopic level and is an interesting model system for the programmable patterning of nanocomposites with access to micrometre-sized periodicities.

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Synthesis and Self-assembly of Amphiphilic Precision Glycomacromolecules

Polymer Chemistry ◽

10.1039/d1py00422k ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Alexander Banger ◽

Julian Sindram ◽

Marius Otten ◽

Jessica Kania ◽

Alexander Strzelczyk ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Self Assembly ◽

Solid Phase ◽

Building Blocks ◽

Polymer Synthesis

We present the synthesis of so called amphiphilic glycomacromolecules (APGs) by using solid-phase polymer synthesis. Based on tailor made building blocks, monosdisperse APGs with varying compositions are synthesized, introducing carbohydrate...

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Self-assembly of cyclic homo- and hetero-β-peptides with cis- furanoid sugar amino acid and β-hGly as building blocks

Chemical Communications ◽

10.1039/b610858j ◽

2006 ◽

pp. 4847-4849 ◽

Cited By ~ 34

Author(s):

Bulusu Jagannadh ◽

Marepally Srinivasa Reddy ◽

Chennamaneni Lohitha Rao ◽

Anabathula Prabhakar ◽

Bharatam Jagadeesh ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Amino Acid ◽

Self Assembly ◽

Building Blocks

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Impingement-assisted self-assembly of ferrofluid droplets under magnetic field

Applied Physics Letters ◽

10.1063/5.0059420 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 119 (4) ◽

pp. 041601

Author(s):

Zhaoyi Wang ◽

Ran Tao ◽

Jun Wu ◽

Bing Li ◽

Chonglei Hao

Keyword(s):

Magnetic Field ◽

Self Assembly

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Self-Assembly of Shape-Tunable Oblate Colloidal Particles into Orientationally Ordered Crystals, Glassy Crystals and Plastic Crystals

Soft Matter ◽

10.1039/d1sm00343g ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Jiawei Lu ◽

Xiangyu Bu ◽

Xinghua Zhang ◽

Bing Liu

Keyword(s):

Crystal Structures ◽

Self Assembly ◽

Colloidal Particles ◽

Building Blocks ◽

Fundamental Question ◽

The Self ◽

Plastic Crystals ◽

Self Assembled ◽

Glassy Crystals ◽

The Relationship

The shapes of colloidal particles are crucial to the self-assembled superstructures. Understanding the relationship between the shapes of building blocks and the resulting crystal structures is an important fundamental question....

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Self-assembly and guest-induced disassembly of triply interlocked [2]catenanes

Chemical Communications ◽

10.1039/d0cc08052g ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 57 (24) ◽

pp. 3010-3013

Author(s):

Ying-Ying Zhang ◽

Feng-Yi Qiu ◽

Hua-Tian Shi ◽

Weibin Yu

Keyword(s):

Self Assembly ◽

Building Blocks ◽

Aromatic Molecules

Two triply interlocked [2]catenanes and one simple metallacage were constructed by tuning the widths of the organometallic dinuclear building blocks, and the interlocked architectures were disassembled by large aromatic molecules.

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