Angewandte Chemie - International Edition
Angewandte Chemie - International Edition
5 years ago

Vesicle Origami: Cuboid Phospholipid Vesicles Formed by Template-Free Self-Assembly

Vesicle Origami: Cuboid Phospholipid Vesicles Formed by Template-Free Self-Assembly
Radu Tanasescu, Gerald Brezesinski, Frederik Neuhaus, Dennis Mueller, Takashi Ishikawa, Sandor Balog, Andreas Zumbuehl
Phospholipid liposomes are archetypical self-assembled structures. To minimize the surface tension, the vesicles typically are spherical. Deciphering the bilayer code, the basic physical interactions between phospholipids would allow these molecules to be utilized as building blocks for novel, non-spherical structures. A 1,2-diamidophospholipid is presented that self-assembles into a cuboid structure. Owing to intermolecular hydrogen bonding, the bilayer membranes form an exceptionally tight subgel packing, leading to a maximization of flat structural elements and a minimization of any edges. These conditions are optimized in the geometrical structure of a cube. Surprisingly, the lateral surface pressure in the membrane is only one third of the value typically assumed for a bilayer membrane, questioning a long-standing rule-of-thumb. Cuboid vesicles: A 1,2-diamidophospholipid is presented that self-assembles into the first non-template phospholipid cube. Owing to intermolecular hydrogen bonding, the bilayer membranes form an exceptionally tight subgel packing, leading to a maximization of flat structural elements and a minimization of any edges. These conditions are optimized in the geometrical structure of a cube.

Publisher URL: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/resolve/doi

DOI: 10.1002/anie.201701634

You might also like
Discover & Discuss Important Research

Keeping up-to-date with research can feel impossible, with papers being published faster than you'll ever be able to read them. That's where Researcher comes in: we're simplifying discovery and making important discussions happen. With over 19,000 sources, including peer-reviewed journals, preprints, blogs, universities, podcasts and Live events across 10 research areas, you'll never miss what's important to you. It's like social media, but better. Oh, and we should mention - it's free.

  • Download from Google Play
  • Download from App Store
  • Download from AppInChina

Researcher displays publicly available abstracts and doesn’t host any full article content. If the content is open access, we will direct clicks from the abstracts to the publisher website and display the PDF copy on our platform. Clicks to view the full text will be directed to the publisher website, where only users with subscriptions or access through their institution are able to view the full article.