title: Copper(II)-Mediated Self-Assembly of Hairpin Peptides and Templated Synthesis of CuS Nanowires.
abstract: The self-assembly of peptides and proteins under well-controlled conditions underlies important nanostructuring processes that could be harnessed in practical applications. Herein, the synthesis of a new hairpin peptide containing four histidine residues is reported and the self-assembly process mediated by metal ions is explored. The work involves the combined use of circular dichroism, NMR spectroscopy, UV/Vis spectroscopy, AFM, and TEM to follow the structural and morphological details of the metal-coordination-mediated folding and self-assembly of the peptide. The results indicate that by forming a tetragonal coordination geometry with four histidine residues, copper(II) ions selectively trigger the peptide to fold and then self-assemble into nanofibrils. Furthermore, the copper(II)-bound nanofibrils template the synthesis of CuS nanowires, which display a near-infrared laser-induced thermal effect.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Heavy Oil Processing, and Centre for Bioengineering and Biotechnology, China University of Petroleum (East China), Changjiang West Road, Qingdao, 266580, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Chengdong
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Heavy Oil Processing, and Centre for Bioengineering and Biotechnology, China University of Petroleum (East China), Changjiang West Road, Qingdao, 266580, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Yawei
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Heavy Oil Processing, and Centre for Bioengineering and Biotechnology, China University of Petroleum (East China), Changjiang West Road, Qingdao, 266580, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Jiqian
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Heavy Oil Processing, and Centre for Bioengineering and Biotechnology, China University of Petroleum (East China), Changjiang West Road, Qingdao, 266580, P.R. China. xuh@upc.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Hai
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: School of Physics and Astronomy, The University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester, M13 9PL, UK. j.lu@manchester.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Jian R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Lu
mesh_terms: D003300:Copper / Q000737:chemistry*; D006639:Histidine / Q000737:chemistry*; D008958:Models, Molecular; D057139:Nanofibers / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D036103:Nanotechnology / Q000379:methods*; D053770:Nanowires / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D010455:Peptides / Q000737:chemistry*; D017510:Protein Folding
chemical_list: D010455:Peptides; D006639:Histidine; D003300:Copper; C017846:cupric sulfide
keywords: copper; nanostructures; peptides; protein folding; self-assembly