Department of Biomolecular Systems , Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces , Am Mühlenberg 1 , 14476 Potsdam , Germany.
Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry , Freie Universität Berlin , Arnimallee 22 , 14195 Berlin , Germany.
J Am Chem Soc. 2019 Mar 27;141(12):4833-4838. doi: 10.1021/jacs.8b11882. Epub 2019 Mar 13.
Self-assembling peptides and oligonucleotides have given rise to synthetic materials with several applications in nanotechnology. Aggregation of synthetic oligosaccharides into well-defined architectures has not been reported even though natural polysaccharides, such as cellulose and chitin, are key structural components of biomaterials. Here, we report that six synthetic oligosaccharides, ranging from dimers to hexamers, self-assemble into nanostructures of varying morphologies and emit within the visible spectrum in an excitation-dependent manner. Well-defined differences in chain length, monomer modification, and aggregation methods yield glycomaterials with distinct shapes and properties. The excitation-dependent fluorescence in a broad range within the visible spectrum illustrates their potential for use in optical devices and imaging applications. We anticipate that our systematic approach of studying well-defined synthetic oligosaccharides will form the foundation of our understanding of carbohydrate interactions in nature.
自组装肽和寡核苷酸已经产生了具有多种纳米技术应用的合成材料。尽管天然多糖（如纤维素和壳聚糖）是生物材料的关键结构组成部分，但将合成寡糖聚集到明确定义的结构中尚未有报道。在这里，我们报告称，六种从二聚体到六聚体的合成寡糖自组装成具有不同形态的纳米结构，并以依赖于激发的方式在可见光谱范围内发射。通过对链长、单体修饰和聚集方法的明确区分，得到了具有独特形状和性质的糖基材料。在可见光谱范围内的宽激发依赖性荧光表明它们具有在光学器件和成像应用中的潜在用途。我们预计，我们对明确合成寡糖的系统研究方法将为我们理解自然界中碳水化合物相互作用奠定基础。
