title: A redox responsive, fluorescent supramolecular metallohydrogel consists of nanofibers with single-molecule width.
abstract: The integration of a tripeptide derivative, which is a versatile self-assembly motif, with a ruthenium(II)tris(bipyridine) complex affords the first supramolecular metallo-hydrogelator that not only self assembles in water to form a hydrogel but also exhibits gel-sol transition upon oxidation of the metal center. Surprisingly, the incorporation of the metal complex in the hydrogelator results in the nanofibers, formed by the self-assembly of the hydrogelator in water, to have the width of a single molecule of the hydrogelator. These results illustrate that metal complexes, besides being able to impart rich optical, electronic, redox, or magnetic properties to supramolecular hydrogels, also offer a unique geometrical control to prearrange the self-assembly motif prior to self-assembling. The use of metal complexes to modulate the dimensionality of intermolecular interactions may also help elucidate the interactions of the molecular nanofibers with other molecules, thus facilitating the development of supramolecular hydrogel materials for a wide range of applications.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Brandeis University , 415 South Street, Waltham, Massachusetts 02454, United States.
authors.forename: Ye
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Bei
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Yi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kuang
authors.forename: Yuan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.forename: Junfeng
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Shi
authors.forename: Xi Xiang
authors.initials: XX
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Bing
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Xu
mesh_terms: D056831:Coordination Complexes / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000737:chemistry; D005456:Fluorescent Dyes / Q000737:chemistry*; D006367:HeLa Cells; D006801:Humans; D020100:Hydrogels / Q000737:chemistry*; D008024:Ligands; D046529:Microscopy, Electron, Transmission; D008858:Microscopy, Phase-Contrast; D008958:Models, Molecular; D057139:Nanofibers / Q000737:chemistry*; D010084:Oxidation-Reduction
chemical_list: D056831:Coordination Complexes; D005456:Fluorescent Dyes; D020100:Hydrogels; D008024:Ligands