Bending behavior of the cysteinyl bolaamphiphile nanobelt assembly induced by the anisotropic disulfide bond formation

C Lee and Y Kim and M Kim and H Yoo and E Sim and SY Lee, JOURNAL OF INDUSTRIAL AND ENGINEERING CHEMISTRY, 127, 438-445 (2023).

DOI: 10.1016/j.jiec.2023.07.027

In this study, we explore how the covalent bonds linking individual building block molecules can sub-stantially alter the suprastructure of molecular self-assembly. We focus on the role of covalent bonding within the self-assembled structures of a cysteinyl bolaamphiphile which consists of two cysteinyl motifs connected by a central hydrophobic heptyl chain spacer. The cysteinyl bolaamphiphile molecules self -assemble into a nanobelt structure with the creation of disulfide bonds during assembly, which prompts anisotropic molecular ordering and subsequent bending of the nanobelts. A series of control experiments revealed the twofold contribution of disulfide bonds: they facilitate the bending of the nanobelt assembly and the formation of longer assembled structures. Molecular dynamics simulation study confirms that the anisotropic distribution of disulfide bonds causes the bending of a nanobelt assembly. Moreover, the simulation and experimental studies demonstrated an increase in the nanobelt curvature as more disulfide bonds are generated. These results highlight the previously unappreciated influence of covalent bonds in causing macroscopic deformation of self-assembled structures.(c) 2023 The Korean Society of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

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