Tailored Terminus Facilitates 3D Assembly of Peptoids

ORAL

Abstract

The rational construction of 3D crystals from synthetic short-chain polymers remains a significant challenge due to the lack of inherent driving forces for the growth in all three dimensions. Here, we report the design of 3D peptoid crystals from linear oligomeric peptoids derived from amphiphilic diblock copolypeptoids that typically form crystalline 2D nanosheets. By removing the amorphous domains and tuning the chain termini, crystalline lamellae up to 500 nm thick were achieved, far exceeding the thickness of typical nanosheets (on the order of a few nanometers). These 3D crystals form via stacking of unit cells with similar lattice parameters to those in 2D nanosheets. The terminal groups, particularly at the C-terminus, play a crucial role in enhancing crystallinity and vertical growth. This research advances our understanding of 3D crystal formation and highlights the importance of engineering chemical structure in designing 3D crystals from short-chain polymers.

*This work was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Basic Energy Sciences, Materials Sciences and Engineering Division under Contract No. DE-AC02-05-CH11231 within the Soft Matter Electron Microscopy Program (KC11BN). Work at the Molecular Foundry at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory was supported by user projects at these user facilities, supported by the Office of Science, Office of Basic Energy Sciences, of the US Department of Energy under Contract DE-AC02-05CH11231.

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Presenters

  • Xi Jiang

    • Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Authors

  • Yen-Jea Lee

    • Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

  • Peter Ercius

    • Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
    • Molecular Foundry, LBNL

  • Xubo Luo

    • Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

  • Glenn Butterfoss

    • Center for Genomics and Systems Biology, New York University

  • Tianyi Yu

    • Louisiana State University

  • Jian Zhang

    • Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

  • David Prendergast

    • Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

  • Andrew M Minor

    • Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

  • Nitash P Balsara

    • University of California, Berkeley

  • Ronald N Zuckermann

    • Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

  • Brooks A Abel

    • University of California, Berkeley

  • Xi Jiang

    • Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory