Nanofiber formation from sequence-selective DNA-templated self-assembly of a thymidylic acid-appended bolaamphiphile

Nanoscale silicon fluidic transfer for ultrahigh-density self-assembled integration

Fluidic self-assembly is an efficient fabrication technique that a large number of semiconductor chips are spontaneously integrated. However, the integrated chips in the experiments reported so far had dimensions of several tens of micrometers for the side lengths and thickness, hindered by the severe adhesiveness of smaller chips to their original substrates. Here we demonstrate fluidic transfer of submicron-scale chips. Simultaneous release and deposition of silicon thin-film chips are conducted in a blended solution of hydrofluoric acid and ethanol with ultrasonication, in relation to the surface tension. The mechanical bonding stability of the thin-film chips to the host chip is confirmed. Our scheme could lead to high-throughput, low-cost, and ultrahigh-density on-chip integration for electronic and photonic devices.

Self-assembly of nucleopeptides to interact with DNAs

As a novel class of biomaterials, nucleopeptides, via the conjugation of nucleobases and peptides, usually self-assemble to form nanofibres driven mainly by hydrogen bonds. Containing nucleobase(s), nucleopeptides have a unique property-interacting with nucleic acids. Here we report the design and characterization of nucleopeptides that self-assemble in water and are able to interact with single-stranded DNAs (ssDNAs). Containing nucleobases on their side chains, these nucleopeptides bind with the ssDNAs, and the ssDNAs reciprocally affect the self-assembly of nucleopeptides. In addition, the interactions between nucleopeptides and ssDNAs also decrease their proteolytic resistance against proteinase K, which further demonstrates the binding with ssDNAs. The nucleopeptides also interact with plasmid DNA and deliver hairpin DNA into cells. This work illustrates a new and rational approach to create soft biomaterials by the integration of nucleobases and peptides to bind with DNA, which may lead to the development of nucleopeptides for controlling DNA in cells.

A phosphonic acid appended naphthalene diimide motif for self-assembly into tunable nanostructures through molecular recognition with arginine in water

A naphthalene diimide motif bearing phosphonic acid functionalities has been found to be self-assembled with L- and D-arginine through chirality induced molecular recognitions and leads to the formation of micrometre long nanobelts and spherical aggregates at pH 9 in water, respectively.

Supramolecular hydrogels formed by the conjugates of nucleobases, Arg-Gly-Asp (RGD) peptides, and glucosamine

Here we report the generation of a novel class of supramolecular hydrogelators based on the integration of nucleobase, Arg-Gly-Asp (RGD) peptides, and glucosamine in a single molecule. These novel small molecule hydrogelators self-assemble in water to form stable supramolecular nanofibers/hydrogels and exhibit useful biostability. This approach provides a new opportunity for systematic exploration of the self-assembly of small biomolecules by varying any individual segment to generate a large array of supramolecular hydrogels for biological functions and for biomedical applications.