Abstract
The self-organization of peptide-based nanostructures at a confined fluid–fluid interface, for example, the air–water or oil–water interface, is important in the context of stabilizing macroscopic soft-matter foams and emulsions. The unique ability to design interfacial nanostructures by controlling the subtle cooperativity that drives peptide self-assembly, and the ability to switch molecular cooperativity by facile triggers such as pH, opens new vistas for controlling macroscopic soft matter in industries as diverse as healthcare and industrial processing. Here we describe research aimed at developing new understanding into soft-matter formation and control, through variation of peptide sequence and bulk conditions. Macroscopic foaming and microfluidic emulsification studies prove particularly useful in visualizing and hence understanding the synergistic link between molecular design, mesoscopic interfacial properties, and bulk soft-matter stability.
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Acknowledgements
The authors acknowledge funding from the Australian Research Council (DP1093056 and DP1213683) supporting their studies into peptide self-assembly at two-dimensional interfaces. Dr Chun-Xia Zhao acknowledges support from the Australian Research Council in the form of an Australian Postdoctoral Fellow (DP110100394).
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Zhao, CX., Middelberg, A.P.J. (2013). Stimuli-Responsive Peptide Nanostructures at the Fluid–Fluid Interface. In: Gerrard, J. (eds) Protein Nanotechnology. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 996. Humana Press, Totowa, NJ. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-62703-354-1_10
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-62703-354-1_10
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