Fabricating Shaped and Patterned Supramolecular Multigelator Objects via Diffusion-Adhesion Gel Assembly

We report the use of acid-diffusion to assemble core-shell supramolecular gel beads with different low-molecular-weight gelators (LMWGs) in the core and shell. These gel beads grow a shell of dibenzylidenesorbitol-based DBS-COOH onto a core comprising DBS-CONHNH2 and agarose that has been loaded with acetic acid. Diffusion of the acid from the core triggers shell assembly. The presence of DBS-CONHNH2 enables the gel core to be loaded with metal nanoparticles (NPs) as acyl hydrazide reduces metal salts in situ. The pH-responsiveness of DBS-COOH allows responsive assembly of the shell with both temporal and spatial control. By fixing multiple gel beads in a Petri dish, the cores become linked to one another by the assembled DBS-COOH gel shell─a process we describe as diffusion-adhesion assembly. By controlling the geometry of the beads with respect to one another, it is possible to pattern the structures, and using a layer-by-layer approach, 3D objects can be fabricated. If some of the beads are loaded with basic DBS-carboxylate instead of CH3COOH, they act as a "sink" for diffusing protons, preventing DBS-COOH shell assembly in the close proximity. Those beads do not adhere to the remainder of the growing gel object and can be simply removed once diffusion-assembly is complete, acting as templates, and enabling the fabrication of 3D "imprinted" multigel architectures. Preloading the gel beads with AuNPs or AgNPs suspends these functional units within the cores at precisely defined locations within a wider gel object. In summary, this approach enables the dynamic fabrication of shaped and patterned gels with embedded metal NPs─such objects have potential next-generation applications in areas including soft nanoelectronics and regenerative medicine.

Persistent ATP-Concentration Gradients in a Hydrogel Sustained by Chemical Fuel Consumption

We show the formation of macroscopic ATP-concentrations in an agarose gel and demonstrate that these gradients can be sustained in time at the expense of the consumption of a chemical fuel. The approach relies on the spatially controlled activation of ATP-producing and ATP-consuming reactions through the local injection of enzymes in the matrix. The reaction-diffusion system is maintained in a stationary non-equilibrium state as long as chemical fuel, phosphocreatine, is present. The reaction-diffusion system is coupled to a supramolecular system composed of monolayer protected gold nanoparticles and a fluorescent probe. As a result of this coupling, fluorescence signals emerge spontaneously in response to the ATP-concentration gradients. We show that the approach permits the rational formation of complex fluorescence patterns that change over time as a function of the evolution of the ATP-concentrations present in the system.

Self-Regulating Colloidal Co-Assemblies That Accelerate Their Own Destruction via Chemo-Structural Feedback

Biological self‐assemblies self‐ and cross‐regulate each other via chemical reaction networks (CRNs) and feedback. Although artificial transient self‐assemblies have been realized via activation/deactivation CRNs, the transient structures themselves do mostly not engage in the CRN. We introduce a rational design approach for chemo‐structural feedback, and present a transient colloidal co‐assembly system, where the formed co‐assemblies accelerate their destruction autonomously. We achieve this by immobilizing enzymes of a deactivating acid‐producing enzymatic cascade on pH‐switchable microgels that can form co‐assemblies at high pH. Since the enzyme partners are immobilized on individual microgels, the co‐assembled state brings them close enough for enhanced acid generation. The amplified deactivator production (acid) leads to an almost two‐fold reduction in the lifetime of the transiently formed pH‐state. Our study thus introduces versatile mechanisms for chemo‐structural feedback.