ABSTRACT
Supramolecular peptide nanofibers that are composed of peptide amphiphile molecules have been widely used for many purposes from biomedical applications to energy conversion. The self-assembly mechanisms of these peptide nanofibers also provide convenient models for understanding the self-assembly mechanisms of various biological supramolecular systems; however, the current theoretical models that explain these mechanisms do not sufficiently explain the experimental results. In this study, we present a new way of modeling these nanofibers that better fits with the experimental data. Molecular dynamics simulations were applied to create model fibers using two different layer models and two different tilt angles. Strikingly, the fibers which were modeled to be tilting the peptide amphiphile molecules and/or tilting the plane were found to be more stable and consistent with the experiments.
ABSTRACT
Biological feedback mechanisms exert precise control over the initiation and termination of molecular self-assembly in response to environmental stimuli, while minimizing the formation and propagation of defects through self-repair processes. Peptide amphiphile (PA) molecules can self-assemble at physiological conditions to form supramolecular nanostructures that structurally and functionally resemble the nanofibrous proteins of the extracellular matrix, and their ability to reconfigure themselves in response to external stimuli is crucial for the design of intelligent biomaterials systems. Here, we investigated real-time self-assembly, deformation, and recovery of PA nanofibers in aqueous solution by using a force-stabilizing double-pass scanning atomic force microscopy imaging method to disrupt the self-assembled peptide nanofibers in a force-dependent manner. We demonstrate that nanofiber damage occurs at tip-sample interaction forces exceeding 1 nN, and the damaged fibers subsequently recover when the tip pressure is reduced. Nanofiber ends occasionally fail to reconnect following breakage and continue to grow as two individual nanofibers. Energy minimization calculations of nanofibers with increasing cross-sectional ellipticity (corresponding to varying levels of tip-induced fiber deformation) support our observations, with high-ellipticity nanofibers exhibiting lower stability compared to their non-deformed counterparts. Consequently, tip-mediated mechanical forces can provide an effective means of altering nanofiber integrity and visualizing the self-recovery of PA assemblies.
ABSTRACT
Recognition of molecules and regulation of extracellular matrix synthesis are some of the functions of enzymes in addition to their catalytic activity. While a diverse array of enzyme-like materials have been developed, these efforts have largely been confined to the imitation of the chemical structure and catalytic activity of the enzymes, and it is unclear whether enzyme-mimetic molecules can also be used to replicate the matrix-regulatory roles ordinarily performed by natural enzymes. Self-assembled peptide nanofibers can provide multifunctional enzyme-mimetic properties, as the active sequences of the target enzymes can be directly incorporated into the peptides. Here, we report enhanced bone regeneration efficiency through peptide nanofibers carrying both catalytic and matrix-regulatory functions of alkaline phosphatase, a versatile enzyme that plays a critical role in bone formation by regulating phosphate homeostasis and calcifiable bone matrix formation. Histidine presenting peptide nanostructures were developed to function as phosphatases. These molecules are able to catalyze phosphate hydrolysis and serve as bone-like nodule inducing scaffolds. Alkaline phosphatase-like peptide nanofibers enabled osteogenesis for both osteoblast-like and mesenchymal cell lines.
