title: Bioinspired Reductionistic Peptide Engineering for Exceptional Mechanical Properties.
abstract: A simple solution-processing and self-assembly approach that exploits the synergistic interactions between multiple hydrogen bonded networks and aromatic interactions was utilized to synthesize molecular crystals of cyclic dipeptides (CDPs), whose molecular weights (~0.2 kDa) are nearly three orders of magnitude smaller than that of natural structural proteins (50-300 kDa). Mechanical properties of these materials, measured using the nanoindentation technique, indicate that the stiffness and strength are comparable and sometimes better than those of natural fibres. The measured mechanical responses were rationalized by recourse to the crystallographic structural analysis and intermolecular interactions in the self-assembled single crystals. With this work we highlight the significance of developing small molecule based bioinspired design strategies to emulate biomechanical properties. A particular advantage of the successfully demonstrated reductionistic strategy of the present work is its amenability for realistic industrial scale manufacturing of designer biomaterials with desired mechanical properties.
authors.affiliation: Bioorganic Chemistry Laboratory, New Chemistry Unit, Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research, Jakkur P. O., Bengaluru 560064, India.
authors.forename: M B
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Avinash
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Engineering, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru 560012, India.
authors.forename: Devaraj
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Raut
authors.affiliation: Solid State and Structural Chemistry Unit, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru 560012, India.
authors.forename: Manish Kumar
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Mishra
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Engineering, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru 560012, India.|Center of Excellence for Advanced Materials Research, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah 21589, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Upadrasta
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Ramamurty
authors.affiliation: Bioorganic Chemistry Laboratory, New Chemistry Unit, Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research, Jakkur P. O., Bengaluru 560064, India.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Govindaraju
mesh_terms: D018360:Crystallography, X-Ray; D004151:Dipeptides / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000737:chemistry*; D055119:Elastic Modulus; D006860:Hydrogen Bonding; D009682:Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; D013058:Mass Spectrometry; D010456:Peptides, Cyclic / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000737:chemistry*; D017434:Protein Structure, Tertiary
chemical_list: D004151:Dipeptides; D010456:Peptides, Cyclic