National Engineering Research Center for Colloidal Materials, Shandong University, Jinan 250100, China.
Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences (BNLMS), CAS Key Lab of Colloid Interface and Chemical Thermodynamics, Institute of Chemistry Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China.
Int J Mol Sci. 2024 Oct 26;25(21):11497. doi: 10.3390/ijms252111497.
Molecular assembly is promising in the construction of advanced materials, obtaining structures with specific functions. In-depth investigation of the relationships between the formation, dynamics, structure, and functionality of the specific molecular assemblies is one of the greatest challenges in nanotechnology and chemistry, which is essential in the rational design and development of functional materials for a variety of applications. Super-resolution microscopy (SRM) has been used as a versatile tool for investigating and elucidating the structures of individual molecular assemblies with its nanometric resolution, multicolor ability, and minimal invasiveness, which are also complementary to conventional optical or electronic techniques that provide the direct observation. In this review, we will provide an overview of the representative studies that utilize SRM to probe molecular assemblies, mainly focusing on the imaging of biomolecular assemblies (lipid-based, peptide-based, protein-based, and DNA-based), organic-inorganic hybrid assemblies, and polymer assemblies. This review will provide guidelines for the evaluation of the dynamics of molecular assemblies, assembly and disassembly processes with distinct dynamic behaviors, and multicomponent assembly through the application of these advanced imaging techniques. We believe that this review will inspire new ideas and propel the development of structural analyses of molecular assemblies to promote the exploitation of new-generation functional materials.
分子组装在先进材料的构建中具有很大的应用潜力，可获得具有特定功能的结构。深入研究特定分子组装的形成、动力学、结构和功能之间的关系是纳米技术和化学领域的最大挑战之一，对于合理设计和开发各种应用的功能材料至关重要。超分辨率显微镜（SRM）已成为一种通用工具，用于通过其纳米级分辨率、多色能力和最小的侵入性来研究和阐明单个分子组装的结构，这也与提供直接观察的传统光学或电子技术互补。在这篇综述中，我们将概述利用 SRM 探测分子组装的代表性研究，主要集中在生物分子组装（基于脂质、基于肽、基于蛋白质和基于 DNA 的组装）、有机-无机杂化组装和聚合物组装的成像上。通过应用这些先进的成像技术，本综述将为评估分子组装的动力学、具有不同动态行为的组装和拆卸过程以及多组分组装提供指导。我们相信，这篇综述将激发新的思路，推动分子组装结构分析的发展，促进新一代功能材料的开发。
