Sequence-Dependent Structural Stability of Self-Assembled Cylindrical Nanofibers by Peptide Amphiphiles
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- 作者：Iris W. Fu ; Hung D. Nguyen
- 刊名：Biomacromolecules
- 出版年：2015
- 出版时间：July 13, 2015
- 年：2015
- 卷：16
- 期：7
- 页码：2209-2219
- 全文大小：573K
- ISSN：1526-4602
文摘
Three-dimensional networks of nanofibers, which are formed through self-assembly of peptide amphiphiles, serve as a biomimetic hydrogel scaffold for tissue engineering. With an emphasis to improve hydrogel properties for cell-specific behavior, a better understanding between structural characteristics and physical properties of the macroscopic gel is sought. Large-scale molecular dynamics simulations were performed on two PA sequences with identical composition (palmitoyl-V3A3E3 and palmitoyl-A3V3E3) showing different self-assembly kinetic mechanisms. While both sequences yielded cylindrical nanofibers, these structures have contrasting internal arrangement with respect to the hydrophobic core; the former is continuous with predominately alkyl tails, whereas the latter is disjointed with interconnecting micelles. Two additional sequences (palmitoyl-V6E3 and palmitoyl-A6E3) were examined to determine the effects of a homogeneous 尾-sheet forming segment that is either strongly or mildly hydrophobic on self-assembly. Results from this study indicate that internal structural arrangement of nanofibers can provide a correlation with structural stability and mechanical behavior of hydrogel nanostructures.