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Light–induced disassembly of self-assembled vesicle-capped nanotubes observed in real time

Nature Nanotechnology volume 6, pages 547–552 (2011)Cite this article

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Abstract

Molecular self-assembly is the basis for the formation of numerous artificial nanostructures1,2. The self-organization of peptides3,4,5,6, amphiphilic molecules composed of fused benzene rings7,8,9,10 and other functional molecules11,12,13,14,15 into nanotubes is of particular interest. However, the design of dynamic, complex self-organized systems that are responsive to external stimuli remains a significant challenge16. Here, we report self-assembled, vesicle-capped nanotubes that can be selectively disassembled by irradiation. The walls of the nanotubes are 3-nm-thick bilayers and are made from amphiphilic molecules with two hydrophobic legs that interdigitate when the molecules self-assemble into bilayers. In the presence of phospholipids, a phase separation between the phospholipids and the amphiphilic molecules creates nanotubes, which are end-capped by vesicles that can be chemically altered or removed and reattached without affecting the nanotubes. The presence of a photoswitchable and fluorescent core in the amphiphilic molecules allows fast and highly controlled disassembly of the nanotubes on irradiation, and distinct disassembly processes can be observed in real time using fluorescence microscopy.

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Figure 1: Schematic representation of assembly and disassembly of vesicle-capped nanotubes.
Figure 2: Structure and properties of amphiphilic switch 1 and self-assembled nanotube morphologies.
Figure 3: Analysis of changes to morphology.
Figure 4: Images of changes in tubular morphology as a function of time.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank the Zernike Institute for Advanced Materials (A.C.C. and J.T.M.) for funding and the US National Science Foundation (NSF) for an NSF International Postdoctoral Fellowship OISE-0853019 (J.M.B.). This project was supported by The Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO-CW) and the European Research Council (grant no. 227897).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Systems Chemistry, Stratingh Institute for Chemistry, University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 4, Groningen, 9747 AG, The Netherlands

    Anthony C. Coleman, John M. Beierle, Marc C. A. Stuart, Beatriz Maciá, Giuseppe Caroli, Derk Jan van Dijken, Jiawen Chen, Wesley R. Browne & Ben L. Feringa

  2. Zernike Institute for Advanced Materials, University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 4, Groningen, 9747 AG, The Netherlands

    Anthony C. Coleman, Jacek T. Mika, Wesley R. Browne & Ben L. Feringa

  3. Department of Electron Microscopy, Groningen Biomolecular Science and Biotechnology Institute, University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 7, Groningen, 9747 AG, The Netherlands

    Marc C. A. Stuart

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  1. Anthony C. Coleman
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Contributions

B.L.F. conceived the research. B.L.F., A.C.C., J.M.B., W.R.B. and B.M. designed the experiments. Synthesis of the amphiphile was carried out by B.M., D.J.v.D. and J.C. Solution photochemical studies, switching studies and tube generation were carried out by A.C.C. and B.M. Cryo-TEM was carried out by M.C.A.S. Molecular models were generated by G.C. Confocal microscope and epifluorescence studies were carried out by J.M.B. and J.T.M. A.C.C., J.M.B., W.R.B. and B.L.F. co-wrote the paper. All authors discussed the results and commented on the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Ben L. Feringa.

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The authors declare no competing financial interests.

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Coleman, A., Beierle, J., Stuart, M. et al. Light–induced disassembly of self-assembled vesicle-capped nanotubes observed in real time. Nature Nanotech 6, 547–552 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1038/nnano.2011.120

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