title: Control of chiral nanostructures by self-assembly of designed amphiphilic peptides and silica biomineralization.
abstract: Peptides, the fundamental building units of biological systems, are chiral in molecular scale as well as in spatial conformation. Shells are exquisite examples of well-defined chiral structures produced by natural biomineralization. However, the fundamental mechanism of chirality expressed in biological organisms remains unclear. Here, we present a system that mimics natural biomineralization and produces enantiopure chiral inorganic materials with controllable helicity. By tuning the hydrophilicity of the amphiphilic peptides, the chiral morphologies and mesostructures can be changed. With decreasing hydrophilicity of the amphiphilic peptides, we observed that the nanostructures changed from twisted nanofibers with a hexagonal mesostructure to twisted nanoribbons with a lamellar mesostructure, and the extent of the helicity decreased. Defining the mechanism of chiral inorganic materials formed from peptides by noncovalent interactions can improve strategies toward the bottom-up synthesis of nanomaterials as well as in the field of bioengineering.
authors.affiliation: School of Chemistry and Chemical Technology, State Key Laboratory of Composite Materials, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 800 Dongchuan Road, Shanghai, 200240 (P.R. China), Fax: (+86) 21-5474-5365.
authors.forename: Zhehao
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Yuan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yao
authors.forename: Lu
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Han
authors.forename: Shunai
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Che
mesh_terms: D057927:Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Interactions; D015394:Molecular Structure; D049329:Nanostructures / Q000737:chemistry*; D010455:Peptides / Q000138:chemical synthesis* / Q000737:chemistry*; D044367:Phase Transition; D016062:Porosity; D000644:Quaternary Ammonium Compounds / Q000737:chemistry*; D012822:Silicon Dioxide / Q000737:chemistry*; D013237:Stereoisomerism
chemical_list: D010455:Peptides; D000644:Quaternary Ammonium Compounds; D012822:Silicon Dioxide
keywords: chirality; helical structures; mesoporous materials; nanostructures; sol-gel processes