AUTHOR=Impresari Elisa , Bossi Alberto , Lumina Edoardo Mario , Ortenzi Marco Aldo , Kothuis Josine Marie , Cappelletti Graziella , Maggioni Daniela , Christodoulou Michael S. , Bucci Raffaella , Pellegrino Sara 

TITLE=Fatty Acids/Tetraphenylethylene Conjugates: Hybrid AIEgens for the Preparation of Peptide-Based Supramolecular Gels

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Chemistry

VOLUME=Volume 10 - 2022

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/chemistry/articles/10.3389/fchem.2022.927563

DOI=10.3389/fchem.2022.927563

ISSN=2296-2646

ABSTRACT=Aggregation induced emissive materials are gaining particularly attention in the last decades, due to their wide application in different fields, from optical devices to biomedicine. In this work, hybrid compounds composed by tetraphenylethylene scaffold combined with fatty acids of different lengths, were synthesized, and characterized. These molecules were found able to self-assemble in aqueous environment into different supramolecular emissive structures depending on chemical composition and water content. Furthermore, they were used as N-terminus capping agents in the development of peptide-based materials. Finally, the functionalization of a 5-mer laminin derived peptide led to the obtainment of luminescent fibrillary materials that were not cytotoxic and were able to form supramolecular gels in aqueous environment.