Self-Assembly and Associated Photophysics of Dendron-Appended Peptide-π-Peptide Triblock Macromolecules

Abstract

Peptide-π-peptide triblock molecules can self-assemble into 1-D nanostructures with extensive hydrogen-bonding networks under appropriate pH conditions. These materials are of interest due to the embedded π-electron units that can facilitate energy and charge transport within biocompatible peptide matrices. Interactions among amino acid residues presented along these hydrogen-bonded structures lead to hierarchical bundling into larger fibrillar assemblies. This complicates the analysis of individual fibrils, an understanding of which is important for tailoring the functionality of the resulting nanomaterials. Appending large bulky groups onto the peptides should frustrate these bundling interactions and significantly alter the self-assembly behavior by restricting the formation of higher order assemblies. Here we evaluate the self-assembly behavior of peptide-π-peptide molecules appended with poly(alkyl ether) dendrons containing tetraethylene glycol functionalities. These dendrons render the peptide–dend...