The Dimensionality of Hydrogen Bond Networks Induces Diverse Physical Properties of Peptide Crystals

Hui Yuan, Pierre Andre Cazade, Chengqian Yuan, Bin Xue, Vijay Bhooshan Kumar, Rusen Yang, Gal Finkelstein-Zuta, Lihi Gershon, Maoz Lahav, Sigal Rencus-Lazar, Yi Cao, Davide Levy, Damien Thompson, Ehud Gazit

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Short peptides are attractive building blocks for the fabrication of self-assembled materials with significant biological, chemical, and physical properties. The microscopic and macroscopic properties of assemblies are usually closely related to the dimensionality of formed hydrogen bond networks. Here, two completely different supramolecular architectures connected by distinct hydrogen bond networks were obtained by simply adding a hydroxyl group to switch from cyclo-tryptophan-alanine (cyclo-WA) to cyclo-tryptophan-serine (cyclo-WS). While hydroxyl-bearing cyclo-WS molecules provided an additional hydrogen bond donor that links to adjacent molecules, forming a rigid three-dimensional network, cyclo-WA arranged into a water-mediated zipper-like structure with a softer two-dimensional layer template. This subtle alteration resulted in a 14-fold enhancement of Young’s modulus values in cyclo-WS compared to cyclo-WA. Both cyclo-dipeptides exhibit biocompatibility, high fluorescence, and piezoelectricity. The demonstrated role of dimensionality of hydrogen bond networks opens new avenues for rational design of materials with precise morphologies and customizable properties for bioelectronic applications.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)3824-3833
Number of pages10
JournalACS Materials Letters
Volume6
Issue number8
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 5 Aug 2024

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