Xie XQ, Zhang Y, Wang M, Liang Y, Cui Y, Li J, Liu CS. Programmable Transient Supramolecular Chiral G-quadruplex Hydrogels via a Chemically Fueled Non-Equilibrium Self-assembly Strategy.
Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 2021;
61:e202114471. [PMID:
34927378 DOI:
10.1002/anie.202114471]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/26/2021] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Abstract
The temporal and spatial control of natural systems has aroused great interest in the creation of synthetic mimics. Operating with boronic ester-based dynamic covalent chemistry and coupling it with an internal pH feedback system, herein, we developed a new chemically fueled reaction network to design non-equilibrium supramolecular chiral G-quadruplex hydrogels with programmable lifetime from minutes, to hours, to days, as well as high transparency and conductivity, excellent injectability and rapid self-healability. The cycle system can be controlled via in-situ kinetically-controlled formation and dissociation of dynamic boronic ester bonds between cis-diols of guanosine (G) and 5-fluorobenzoxaborole (B) under chemical fuels (KOH and 1,3-propanesultone), leading to the formation of a precipitate-solution-gel-precipitate cycle under non-equilibrium conditions. A combined experimental-computational approach revealed that the underlying mechanism of the non-equilibrium self-assembly involves aggregation and disaggregation of right-handed helical G-quadruplex superstructure. With consecutive cycles of fuel addition, the non-equilibrium system can be easily refueled at least 6 cycles without obvious loss in the rheological moduli of the transient hydrogels. The proposed dynamic boronic ester-based non-equilibrium self-assembly strategy offers a new option to design next-generation adaptive and interactive smart materials.
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