Hierarchical Self-Organization in Organic Solvents

In summary, stable fibrillar aggregates were obtained from all macro monomers A-E, which had end groups capable of N—H 0=C type hydrogen bonding. 

In all cases, these aggregates had a uniform diameter of a few nanometers, that is, on the same length scale as the molecular dimensions. Hence, they appeared to be well-defined supramolecular polymers (rather than micellar or vesicular structures) with the propensity to higher-order structure formation. The exact natureofthelatterwasfoundtodependonthenumberofadditionalN—H G=C type hydrogen-bonding sites in the molecules end groups. 

A General Model for the Hierarchical Self-Organization of Oligopeptide-Polymer Conjugates 

The symmetric dimer E had been shown to form parallel P-sheet secondary structures. Due to its symmetry, however, macromonomer E contains two oligopeptide segments with opposite directionality covalently attached to the 

As a result, the mode of aggregation is apolar in this case, as well, because the different domains dipole moment components perpendicular to the tape axis cancel out and both tape edges are equally decorated with hydrophobic polymer segments. Accordingly, a further organization into higher structures is prohibited. 

---