Time matters for macroscopic membranes formed by alginate and cationic β-sheet peptides

Soft Matter. 2020 Nov 18;16(44):10132-10142. doi: 10.1039/d0sm01197e.

Abstract

Hierarchically ordered planar and spherical membranes (sacs) were constructed using amphiphilic and cationic β-sheet peptides that spontaneously assembled together with negatively charged alginate solution. The system was found to form either a fully developed membrane structure with three distinct regions including characteristic perpendicular fibers or a non-fully developed contact layer lacking these standing fibers, depending on the peptide age, membrane geometry and membrane incubation time. The morphological differences were found to strongly depend on fairly-long incubation time frames that influenced both the peptide's intrinsic alignment and the reaction-diffusion process taking place at the interface. A three-stage mechanism was suggested and key parameters affecting the development process were identified. Stability tests in biologically relevant buffers confirmed the suitability of these membranes for bio applications.

MeSH terms

  • Alginates*
  • Membranes
  • Peptides*
  • Protein Conformation, beta-Strand

Substances

  • Alginates
  • Peptides