Self-assembly occurs extensively at all length scales, ranging from small molecules, protein filaments, to macroscopic objects.  In the recent two decades, particular attentions has been paid to hydrogels, which can be used in a variety of applications ranging from light harvesting, tissue engineering, drug delivery, etc. Although it is known how to form hydrogels via self-assembly, relatively little attention has been paid to the thermodynamic behavior of the assemblies. There is limited information about how small molecules grow into nanofibers and how the nanofibers form a hydrogel.  This problem may also be related to the onset of neurodegenerative diseases due to the formation of amyloid plaques. To gain a better understanding of the self-assembly process, we investigate a class of novel self-assembly molecules, which share the same self-assembly motif as the amyloid plaques.  We study the temperature dependence of the self-assembly of these hydrogelators using various techniques, such as dynamic light scattering (DLS), NMR, rheology, and small angle neutron scattering (SANS).  DLS yields information on the initial stage of fiber formation.  SANS is used to determine the organization of the supramolecular assemblies (e.g., mesh size of the network).  We believe a better understanding of the physics of self-assembly process may facilitate the design of nanofibers/hydrogels for applications in biology and medicine.

How small molecules self-assemble into nanofibers and form hydrogels

249th National Meeting (2015)

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