5 research outputs found
Chemical signal activation of an organocatalyst enables control over soft material formation
Enzymes regulated by chemical signals are common in biology, but few such artificial catalysts exist. Here, the authors design an aniline catalyst that, when activated by a chemical trigger, catalyses formation of hydrazone-based gels, demonstrating signal response in a soft material
Negatively Charged Lipid Membranes Catalyze Supramolecular Hydrogel Formation
In
this contribution we show that biological membranes can catalyze
the formation of supramolecular hydrogel networks. Negatively charged
lipid membranes can generate a local proton gradient, accelerating
the acid-catalyzed formation of hydrazone-based supramolecular gelators
near the membrane. Synthetic lipid membranes can be used to tune the
physical properties of the resulting multicomponent gels as a function
of lipid concentration. Moreover, the catalytic activity of lipid
membranes and the formation of gel networks around these supramolecular
structures are controlled by the charge and phase behavior of the
lipid molecules. Finally, we show that the insights obtained from
synthetic membranes can be translated to biological membranes, enabling
the formation of gel fibers on living HeLa cells
Negatively Charged Lipid Membranes Catalyze Supramolecular Hydrogel Formation
In
this contribution we show that biological membranes can catalyze
the formation of supramolecular hydrogel networks. Negatively charged
lipid membranes can generate a local proton gradient, accelerating
the acid-catalyzed formation of hydrazone-based supramolecular gelators
near the membrane. Synthetic lipid membranes can be used to tune the
physical properties of the resulting multicomponent gels as a function
of lipid concentration. Moreover, the catalytic activity of lipid
membranes and the formation of gel networks around these supramolecular
structures are controlled by the charge and phase behavior of the
lipid molecules. Finally, we show that the insights obtained from
synthetic membranes can be translated to biological membranes, enabling
the formation of gel fibers on living HeLa cells