Mechanosensitive Gold Colloidal Membranes Mediated by Supramolecular Interfacial Self-Assembly
详细信息 查看全文
- 作者：João Paulo Coelho ; María José Mayoral ; Luis Camacho ; María T. Martín-Romero ; Gloria Tardajos ; Iván López-Montero ; Eduardo Sanz ; David Ávila-BrandeJuan José Giner-Casares ; Gustavo FernándezAndrés Guerrero-Martínez
- 刊名：Journal of the American Chemical Society
- 出版年：2017
- 出版时间：January 25, 2017
- 年：2017
- 卷：139
- 期：3
- 页码：1120-1128
- 全文大小：665K
- ISSN：1520-5126
文摘
The ability to respond toward mechanical stimuli is a fundamental property of biological organisms at both the macroscopic and cellular levels, yet it has been considerably less observed in artificial supramolecular and colloidal homologues. An archetypal example in this regard is cellular mechanosensation, a process by which mechanical forces applied on the cell membrane are converted into biochemical or electrical signals through nanometer-scale changes in molecular conformations. In this article, we report an artificial gold nanoparticle (Au NP)–discrete π-conjugated molecule hybrid system that mimics the mechanical behavior of biological membranes and is able to self-assemble into colloidal gold nanoclusters or membranes in a controlled and reversible fashion by changing the concentration or the mechanical force (pressure) applied. This has been achieved by rational design of a small π-conjugated thiolated molecule that controls, to a great extent, the hierarchy levels involved in Au NP clustering by enabling reversible, cooperative non-covalent (π–π, solvophobic, and hydrogen bonding) interactions. In addition, the Au NP membranes have the ability to entrap and release aromatic guest molecules reversibly (Kb = 5.0 × 105 M–1) for several cycles when subjected to compression–expansion experiments, in close analogy to the behavior of cellular mechanosensitive channels. Not only does our hybrid system represent the first example of a reversible colloidal membrane, but it also can be controlled by a dynamic mechanical stimulus using a new supramolecular surface-pressure-controlled strategy. This approach holds great potential for the development of multiple colloidal assemblies within different research fields.