A supramolecular polymer as a self-assembling polyvalent scaffold.
Binding bacteria: Discotic molecules self-assemble into columnar supramolecular polymers that show strong polyvalent binding to bacteria by virtue of mannose ligands attached at their periphery (orange; see picture). The reversible formation of the supramolecular polymers allows simple mixing of differently substituted monomers and the optimization of bacterial aggregation.
Müller
Marion K
MK
Department of Chemical Biology, Max Planck Institute for Molecular Physiology and Chemical Genomics Centre, Otto-Hahn-Strasse 15, 44227 Dortmund, Germany.
Brunsveld
Luc
L
D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000378:metabolism; D005456:Fluorescent Dyes / Q000737:chemistry; D008358:Mannose / Q000737:chemistry; D011108:Polymers / Q000737:chemistry*
D005456:Fluorescent Dyes; D011108:Polymers; D008358:Mannose