5 research outputs found
Pure Anisotropic Hydrogel with an Inherent Chiral Internal Structure Based on the Chiral Nematic Liquid Crystal Phase of Rodlike Viruses
Imparting
ordered structures into otherwise amorphous hydrogels
is expected to endow these popular materials with novel multiple-stimuli
responsiveness that promises many applications. The current contribution
reports a method to fabricate pure polymeric hydrogels with an inherent
chiral internal structure by templating on the chiral nematic liquid
crystal phase of a rodlike virus. A method was developed to form macroscopically
homogeneous chiral templates by confinement induced self-assembly
in the presence of monomers, cross-linkers and initiators. Polymerization
induced gelation was performed without perturbing the elegant 3D chiral
organization of the rodlike virus bearing double bonds. Furthermore,
a suitable method was found to remove the organic virus template while
keeping the desired polymeric replica intact, resulting in a pure
polymeric hydrogel with a unique internal chiral feature that originates
from the 3D chiral ordering of the cylindrical pores left by the virus.
Multiple-stimuli responsiveness has been demonstrated and can be quantified
by the change of the pitch of the chiral feature. The chiral structure
endows the otherwise featureless hydrogel with a unique material property
that might be used as a readout signal for sensing and acts as the
basis for responsive, biomimetic nanostructured materials
Thermoresponsive Chiral to Nonchiral Ordering Transformation in the Nematic Liquid-Crystal Phase of Rodlike Viruses: Turning the Survival Strategy of a Virus into Valuable Material Properties
The
current work investigates the thermoresponsive in situ chiral
to nonchiral ordering transformation of a rodlike virus in the naturally
assembled stateî—¸the chiral nematic liquid crystal (CLC) phase.
We take this as an elegant example of reconfigurable self-assembly,
through which it is possible to realize in situ transformation from
one assembled state to another without disrupting the preformed assembly
in general or going through a secondary assembling procedure of the
disassembled building blocks. The detailed investigation presented
here reveals many unique characteristics of the thermoresponsive 3D
chiral ordering of rodlike viruses induced by heat stress. The chiral
to nonchiral ordering transformation is highly reversible in the temperature
range of up to 60 °C and can be repeated many times. There exists
a critical temperature around 40 °C which is independent of the
ionic strength and virus concentration. Such reconfigurable ordering
in the CLC phase stems from the intrinsic structure change of constituent
coat proteins without disrupting the structural integrity of the virus,
as revealed by three analytical techniques targeting levels ranging
from the molecular, secondary conformation of the constituent proteins
to the whole single virus, respectively. Such structural flexibility,
also termed polymorphism, is relative to the survival strategies of
a biological organism such as the virus and can be transformed into
very precious material properties. The potential of the virus-based
CLC phase as the chiral matrix to regulate chiro-optical properties
of gold nanorods is also presented
Pure Anisotropic Hydrogel with an Inherent Chiral Internal Structure Based on the Chiral Nematic Liquid Crystal Phase of Rodlike Viruses
Imparting
ordered structures into otherwise amorphous hydrogels
is expected to endow these popular materials with novel multiple-stimuli
responsiveness that promises many applications. The current contribution
reports a method to fabricate pure polymeric hydrogels with an inherent
chiral internal structure by templating on the chiral nematic liquid
crystal phase of a rodlike virus. A method was developed to form macroscopically
homogeneous chiral templates by confinement induced self-assembly
in the presence of monomers, cross-linkers and initiators. Polymerization
induced gelation was performed without perturbing the elegant 3D chiral
organization of the rodlike virus bearing double bonds. Furthermore,
a suitable method was found to remove the organic virus template while
keeping the desired polymeric replica intact, resulting in a pure
polymeric hydrogel with a unique internal chiral feature that originates
from the 3D chiral ordering of the cylindrical pores left by the virus.
Multiple-stimuli responsiveness has been demonstrated and can be quantified
by the change of the pitch of the chiral feature. The chiral structure
endows the otherwise featureless hydrogel with a unique material property
that might be used as a readout signal for sensing and acts as the
basis for responsive, biomimetic nanostructured materials
Thermoresponsive Chiral to Nonchiral Ordering Transformation in the Nematic Liquid-Crystal Phase of Rodlike Viruses: Turning the Survival Strategy of a Virus into Valuable Material Properties
The
current work investigates the thermoresponsive in situ chiral
to nonchiral ordering transformation of a rodlike virus in the naturally
assembled stateî—¸the chiral nematic liquid crystal (CLC) phase.
We take this as an elegant example of reconfigurable self-assembly,
through which it is possible to realize in situ transformation from
one assembled state to another without disrupting the preformed assembly
in general or going through a secondary assembling procedure of the
disassembled building blocks. The detailed investigation presented
here reveals many unique characteristics of the thermoresponsive 3D
chiral ordering of rodlike viruses induced by heat stress. The chiral
to nonchiral ordering transformation is highly reversible in the temperature
range of up to 60 °C and can be repeated many times. There exists
a critical temperature around 40 °C which is independent of the
ionic strength and virus concentration. Such reconfigurable ordering
in the CLC phase stems from the intrinsic structure change of constituent
coat proteins without disrupting the structural integrity of the virus,
as revealed by three analytical techniques targeting levels ranging
from the molecular, secondary conformation of the constituent proteins
to the whole single virus, respectively. Such structural flexibility,
also termed polymorphism, is relative to the survival strategies of
a biological organism such as the virus and can be transformed into
very precious material properties. The potential of the virus-based
CLC phase as the chiral matrix to regulate chiro-optical properties
of gold nanorods is also presented
Thermoresponsive Chiral to Nonchiral Ordering Transformation in the Nematic Liquid-Crystal Phase of Rodlike Viruses: Turning the Survival Strategy of a Virus into Valuable Material Properties
The
current work investigates the thermoresponsive in situ chiral
to nonchiral ordering transformation of a rodlike virus in the naturally
assembled stateî—¸the chiral nematic liquid crystal (CLC) phase.
We take this as an elegant example of reconfigurable self-assembly,
through which it is possible to realize in situ transformation from
one assembled state to another without disrupting the preformed assembly
in general or going through a secondary assembling procedure of the
disassembled building blocks. The detailed investigation presented
here reveals many unique characteristics of the thermoresponsive 3D
chiral ordering of rodlike viruses induced by heat stress. The chiral
to nonchiral ordering transformation is highly reversible in the temperature
range of up to 60 °C and can be repeated many times. There exists
a critical temperature around 40 °C which is independent of the
ionic strength and virus concentration. Such reconfigurable ordering
in the CLC phase stems from the intrinsic structure change of constituent
coat proteins without disrupting the structural integrity of the virus,
as revealed by three analytical techniques targeting levels ranging
from the molecular, secondary conformation of the constituent proteins
to the whole single virus, respectively. Such structural flexibility,
also termed polymorphism, is relative to the survival strategies of
a biological organism such as the virus and can be transformed into
very precious material properties. The potential of the virus-based
CLC phase as the chiral matrix to regulate chiro-optical properties
of gold nanorods is also presented