Hierarchical assembly of diphenylalanine into dendritic nanoarchitectures

Colloids Surf B Biointerfaces. 2010 Sep 1;79(2):440-5. doi: 10.1016/j.colsurfb.2010.05.003. Epub 2010 May 9.

Abstract

Highly ordered, multi-dimensional dendritic nanoarchitectures were created via self-assembly of diphenylalanine from an acidic buffer solution. The self-similarity of dendritic structures was characterized by examining their fractal dimensions with the box-counting method. The fractal dimension was determined to be 1.7, which demonstrates the fractal dimension of structures generated by diffusion limited aggregation on a two-dimensional substrate surface. By confining the dendritic assembly of diphenylalanine within PDMS microchannels, the self-similar dendritic growth could be hierarchically directed to create linearly assembled nanoarchitectures. Our approach offers a novel pathway for creating and directing hierarchical nanoarchitecture from biomolecular assembly.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Buffers
  • Dendrimers / chemistry*
  • Dipeptides
  • Fractals
  • Hydrogen-Ion Concentration
  • Nanoparticles / chemistry*
  • Nanoparticles / ultrastructure
  • Nephelometry and Turbidimetry
  • Peptides / chemistry
  • Phenylalanine / analogs & derivatives*
  • Phenylalanine / chemistry
  • Solutions

Substances

  • Buffers
  • Dendrimers
  • Dipeptides
  • Peptides
  • Solutions
  • phenylalanylphenylalanine
  • Phenylalanine