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Archontakis E, Dhiman S, Zhang M, Vleugels MEJ, Meijer EW, Palmans ARA, Zijlstra P, Albertazzi L. Visualizing the Heterogeneity in Homogeneous Supramolecular Polymers. J Am Chem Soc 2024; 146:19974-19985. [PMID: 38986035 PMCID: PMC11273342 DOI: 10.1021/jacs.4c03562] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/12/2024] [Revised: 06/28/2024] [Accepted: 06/28/2024] [Indexed: 07/12/2024]
Abstract
The dynamic properties of supramolecular polymers enable new functionality beyond the limitations of conventional polymers. The mechanism of the monomer exchange between different supramolecular polymers is proposed to be closely associated with local disordered domains within the supramolecular polymers. However, a direct detection of such heterogeneity has never been experimentally probed. Here, we present the direct visualization of the local disordered domains in the backbone of supramolecular polymers by a super-resolution microscopy technique: Nile Red-based spectrally resolved point accumulation for imaging in nanoscale topography (NR-sPAINT). We investigate the local disordered domains in trisamide-based supramolecular polymers comprising a (co)assembly of benzene-1,3,5-tricarboxamide (BTA) and a variant with one of the amide bonds inverted (iBTA). The NR-sPAINT allows us to simultaneously map the spatial distribution and polarity of the local disordered domains along the polymers with a spatial precision down to ∼20 nm. Quantitative autocorrelation and cross-correlation analysis show subtle differences in the spatial distribution of the disordered domains between polymers composed of different variants of BTA monomers. Further, statistical analysis unraveled high heterogeneity in monomer packing at both intra- and interpolymer levels. The results reported here demonstrate the necessity of investigating the structures in soft materials at nanoscale to fully understand their intricacy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emmanouil Archontakis
- Department
of Biomedical Engineering, and Institute for Complex Molecular Systems, Eindhoven University of Technology, 5600MB Eindhoven, The Netherlands
| | - Shikha Dhiman
- Laboratory
of Macromolecular and Organic Chemistry, and Institute for Complex
Molecular Systems, Eindhoven University
of Technology, P.O. Box 513, 5600 MB Eindhoven, The Netherlands
| | - Miao Zhang
- Department
of Biomedical Engineering, and Institute for Complex Molecular Systems, Eindhoven University of Technology, 5600MB Eindhoven, The Netherlands
| | - Marle E. J. Vleugels
- Laboratory
of Macromolecular and Organic Chemistry, and Institute for Complex
Molecular Systems, Eindhoven University
of Technology, P.O. Box 513, 5600 MB Eindhoven, The Netherlands
| | - E. W. Meijer
- Laboratory
of Macromolecular and Organic Chemistry, and Institute for Complex
Molecular Systems, Eindhoven University
of Technology, P.O. Box 513, 5600 MB Eindhoven, The Netherlands
- School
of Chemistry and RNA Institute, The University
of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales 2052, Australia
| | - Anja R. A. Palmans
- Laboratory
of Macromolecular and Organic Chemistry, and Institute for Complex
Molecular Systems, Eindhoven University
of Technology, P.O. Box 513, 5600 MB Eindhoven, The Netherlands
| | - Peter Zijlstra
- Department
of Applied Physics and Science Education, and Institute for Complex
Molecular Systems, Eindhoven University
of Technology, 5600MB Eindhoven, The Netherlands
| | - Lorenzo Albertazzi
- Department
of Biomedical Engineering, and Institute for Complex Molecular Systems, Eindhoven University of Technology, 5600MB Eindhoven, The Netherlands
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Gallego L, Woods JF, Butti R, Szwedziak P, Vargas Jentzsch A, Rickhaus M. Shape-Assisted Self-Assembly of Hexa-Substituted Carpyridines into 1D Supramolecular Polymers. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 2024; 63:e202318879. [PMID: 38237056 DOI: 10.1002/anie.202318879] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/08/2023] [Accepted: 01/18/2024] [Indexed: 02/06/2024]
Abstract
The extent of the influence that molecular curvature plays on the self-assembly of supramolecular polymers remains an open question in the field. We began addressing this fundamental question with the introduction of "carpyridines", which are saddle-shaped monomers that can associate with one another through π-π interactions and in which the rotational and translational movements are restricted. The topography displayed by the monomers led, previously, to the assembly of highly ordered 2D materials even in the absence of strong directional interactions such as hydrogen bonding. Here, we introduce a simple strategy to gain control over the dimensionality of the formed structures yielding classical unidimensional polymers. These have been characterized using well-established protocols allowing us to determine and confirm the self-assembly mechanism of both fibers and sheets. The calculated interaction energies are significantly higher than expected for flexible self-assembling units lacking classical "strong" non-covalent interactions. The versatility of this supramolecular unit to assemble into either supramolecular fibers or 2D sheets with strong association energies highlights remarkably well the potential and importance of molecular shape for the design of supramolecular materials and the applications thereof.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lucía Gallego
- Department of Chemistry, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Joseph F Woods
- Department of Chemistry, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Rachele Butti
- Department of Chemistry, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Piotr Szwedziak
- Centre for Microscopy and Image Analysis, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Andreas Vargas Jentzsch
- SAMS Research Group, University of Strasbourg, Institut Charles Sadron, CNRS, Rue du Loess 23, 67200, Strasbourg, France
| | - Michel Rickhaus
- Department of Chemistry, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057, Zurich, Switzerland
- Department of Organic Chemistry, University of Geneva, 30 quai Ernest-Ansermet, 1205, Geneva, Switzerland
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Vleugels MEJ, Bosman R, da Camino Soligo PH, Wijker S, Fehér B, Spiering AJH, Rijns L, Bellan R, Dankers PYW, Palmans ARA. Bisurea-Based Supramolecular Polymers for Tunable Biomaterials. Chemistry 2024; 30:e202303361. [PMID: 38032693 DOI: 10.1002/chem.202303361] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/12/2023] [Revised: 11/29/2023] [Accepted: 11/30/2023] [Indexed: 12/01/2023]
Abstract
Water-soluble supramolecular polymers show great potential to develop dynamic biomaterials with tailored properties. Here, we elucidate the morphology, stability and dynamicity of supramolecular polymers derived from bisurea-based monomers. An accessible synthetic approach from 2,4-toluene diisocyanate (TDI) as the starting material is developed. TDI has two isocyanates that differ in intrinsic reactivity, which allows to obtain functional, desymmetrized monomers in a one-step procedure. We explore how the hydrophobic/hydrophilic ratio affects the properties of the formed supramolecular polymers by increasing the number of methylene units from 10 to 12 keeping the hydrophilic hexa(ethylene glycol) constant. All bisurea-based monomers form long, fibrous structures with 3-5 monomers in the cross-section in water, indicating a proper hydrophobic\hydrophilic balance. The stability of the supramolecular polymers increases with an increasing amount of methylene units, whereas the dynamic nature of the monomers decreases. The introduction of one Cy3 dye affords modified supramolecular monomers, which co-assemble with the unmodified monomers into fibrous structures. All systems show excellent water-compatibility and no toxicity for different cell-lines. Importantly, in cell culture media, the fibrous structures remain present, highlighting the stability of these supramolecular polymers in physiological conditions. The results obtained here motivate further investigation of these bisurea-based building blocks as dynamic biomaterial.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marle E J Vleugels
- Laboratory of Macromolecular and Organic Chemistry, Department of Chemical Engineering and Chemistry, Eindhoven University of Technology, Eindhoven, The Netherlands
- Institute for Complex Molecular Systems, Eindhoven University of Technology, Eindhoven, The Netherlands
| | - Rik Bosman
- Laboratory of Macromolecular and Organic Chemistry, Department of Chemical Engineering and Chemistry, Eindhoven University of Technology, Eindhoven, The Netherlands
- Institute for Complex Molecular Systems, Eindhoven University of Technology, Eindhoven, The Netherlands
| | - Piers H da Camino Soligo
- Laboratory of Macromolecular and Organic Chemistry, Department of Chemical Engineering and Chemistry, Eindhoven University of Technology, Eindhoven, The Netherlands
- Institute for Complex Molecular Systems, Eindhoven University of Technology, Eindhoven, The Netherlands
| | - Stefan Wijker
- Laboratory of Macromolecular and Organic Chemistry, Department of Chemical Engineering and Chemistry, Eindhoven University of Technology, Eindhoven, The Netherlands
- Institute for Complex Molecular Systems, Eindhoven University of Technology, Eindhoven, The Netherlands
| | - Bence Fehér
- Laboratory of Self-Organizing Soft Matter, Department of Chemical Engineering and Chemistry, Eindhoven University of Technology, Eindhoven, The Netherlands
- Institute for Complex Molecular Systems, Eindhoven University of Technology, Eindhoven, The Netherlands
| | - A J H Spiering
- Laboratory of Macromolecular and Organic Chemistry, Department of Chemical Engineering and Chemistry, Eindhoven University of Technology, Eindhoven, The Netherlands
- Laboratory of Self-Organizing Soft Matter, Department of Chemical Engineering and Chemistry, Eindhoven University of Technology, Eindhoven, The Netherlands
- Institute for Complex Molecular Systems, Eindhoven University of Technology, Eindhoven, The Netherlands
| | - Laura Rijns
- Laboratory of Chemical Biology, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Eindhoven University of Technology, Eindhoven, The Netherlands
- Institute for Complex Molecular Systems, Eindhoven University of Technology, Eindhoven, The Netherlands
| | - Riccardo Bellan
- Laboratory of Chemical Biology, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Eindhoven University of Technology, Eindhoven, The Netherlands
- Institute for Complex Molecular Systems, Eindhoven University of Technology, Eindhoven, The Netherlands
| | - Patricia Y W Dankers
- Laboratory of Chemical Biology, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Eindhoven University of Technology, Eindhoven, The Netherlands
- Institute for Complex Molecular Systems, Eindhoven University of Technology, Eindhoven, The Netherlands
| | - Anja R A Palmans
- Laboratory of Macromolecular and Organic Chemistry, Department of Chemical Engineering and Chemistry, Eindhoven University of Technology, Eindhoven, The Netherlands
- Institute for Complex Molecular Systems, Eindhoven University of Technology, Eindhoven, The Netherlands
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