(464e) Tuning Underwater Adhesion with Cation-Pi Interactions
AIChE Annual Meeting
2017
2017 Annual Meeting
Engineering Sciences and Fundamentals
Biomolecules at Interfaces I
Wednesday, November 1, 2017 - 9:07am to 9:23am
CationâÏ interactions feature prominently in the self-assembly and adhesion of many biological molecules, including the adhesion proteins of several marine organisms. Although the origin of cationâÏ bonds in isolated pairs has been extensively studied, the mechanism of cationâÏ-interactions in molecular films remains uncharted. Here we discuss nanoscale force measurements demonstrating that the cohesive properties of simple aromatic and lysine-rich peptides rival those of the strong adhesion exhibited by adhesion proteins of the marine mussel. More broadly, we demonstrate that interfacial confinement fundamentally alters the energetics of cationâÏ-mediated assembly, and we discuss how this insight can be used to tune self-assembly and adhesion in peptide-based biomaterials.