title: Fabrication of multiresponsive bioactive nanocapsules through orthogonal self-assembly.
abstract: Multifunctional self-assembled systems present platforms for fundamental research and practical applications as they provide tunability of structure, functionality, and stimuli responsiveness. Pragmatic structures for biological applications have multiple design requirements, including control of size, stability, and environmental response. Here we present the fabrication of multifunctional nanoparticle-stabilized capsules (NPSCs) by using a set of orthogonal supramolecular interactions. In these capsules, fluorescent proteins are attached to quantum dots through polyhistidine coordination. These anionic assemblies interact laterally with cationic gold nanoparticles that are anchored to the fatty acid core through guanidinium-carboxylate interactions. The lipophilic core then provides a reservoir for hydrophobic endosome-disrupting agents, thereby generating a system featuring stimuli-responsive release of a payload into the cytosol with fluorescence monitoring.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, University of Massachusetts Amherst, 710 North Pleasant Street, Amherst, MA 01003 (USA).
authors.forename: Yi-Cheun
authors.initials: YC
authors.lastname: Yeh
authors.forename: Rui
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.forename: Rubul
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Mout
authors.forename: Youngdo
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Jeong
authors.forename: Vincent M
authors.initials: VM
authors.lastname: Rotello
mesh_terms: D053769:Nanocapsules; D045663:Quantum Dots
chemical_list: D053769:Nanocapsules
keywords: nanocapsules; nanoparticles; noncovalent interactions; self-assembly; stimuli-responsive release