title: Spherulitic assembly of peptide nanowires via spontaneous crystallization.
abstract: In this work, the hierarchal arrangement of peptide nanowires was achieved via the spontaneous crystallization of peptide molecules. Peptide molecules, which are structural motifs associated with Alzheimer's disease, assembled into one-dimensional nanowires and spontaneously formed two-dimensional peptide spherulites during crystallization of the peptide melt. The assembly behavior of the peptides could be directed by physically confining the soft mold. Furthermore, a hybrid assembly of small functional molecules, such as photoluminescent Alq3, was also achieved. Our approach offers a simple method for achieving spontaneous long-range crystalline order of building blocks approaching macroscopic dimensions and also a facile hybridization strategy to conjugate biomolecules and functional small molecules.
authors.forename: Tae Hee
authors.initials: TH
authors.lastname: Han
mesh_terms: D003460:Crystallization / Q000379:methods*; D004151:Dipeptides; D036103:Nanotechnology / Q000379:methods*; D053770:Nanowires / Q000737:chemistry*; D010455:Peptides / Q000737:chemistry*; D010649:Phenylalanine / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D004151:Dipeptides; D010455:Peptides; C026650:phenylalanylphenylalanine; D010649:Phenylalanine