TY - JOUR A1 - Chowdhary, S. A1 - Schmidt, R. F. A1 - Sahoo, A. K. A1 - tom Dieck, T. A1 - Hohmann, T. A1 - Schade, B. A1 - Brademann-Jock, Kerstin A1 - Thünemann, Andreas A1 - Netz, R. R. A1 - Gradzielski, M. A1 - Koksch, B. T1 - Rational design of amphiphilic fluorinated peptides: evaluation of self-assembly properties and hydrogel formation JF - Nanoscale N2 - Advanced peptide-based nanomaterials composed of self-assembling peptides (SAPs) are of emerging interest in pharmaceutical and biomedical applications. The introduction of fluorine into peptides, in fact, offers unique opportunities to tune their biophysical properties and intermolecular interactions. In particular, the degree of fluorination plays a crucial role in peptide engineering as it can be used to control the characteristics of fluorine-specific interactions and, thus, peptide conformation and self-assembly. Here, we designed and explored a series of amphipathic peptides by incorporating the fluorinated amino acids (2S)-4-monofluoroethylglycine (MfeGly), (2S)-4,4-difluoroethylglycine (DfeGly) and (2S)-4,4,4-trifluoroethylglycine (TfeGly) as hydrophobic components. This approach enabled studying the impact of fluorination on secondary structure formation and peptide self-assembly on a systematic basis. We show that the interplay between polarity and hydrophobicity, both induced differentially by varying degrees of side chain fluorination, does affect peptide folding significantly. A greater degree of fluorination promotes peptide fibrillation and subsequent formation of physical hydrogels in physiological conditions. Molecular simulations revealed the key role played by electrostatically driven intra-chain and inter-chain contact pairs that are modulated by side chain fluorination and give insights into the different self-organization behaviour of selected peptides. Our study provides a systematic report about the distinct features of fluorinated oligomeric peptides with potential applications as peptide-based biomaterials. KW - Small-angle X-ray scattering KW - SAXS KW - Amyloid PY - 2022 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-553504 DO - https://doi.org/10.1039/D2NR01648F SN - 2040-3364 VL - 14 IS - 28 SP - 10176 EP - 10189 PB - Royal Society of Chemistry AN - OPUS4-55350 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Navarro, L. A1 - Thünemann, Andreas A1 - Klinger, D. T1 - Solvent Annealing of Striped Ellipsoidal Block Copolymer Particles: Reversible Control over Lamellae Asymmetry, Aspect Ratio, and Particle Surface JF - ACS Macro Letters N2 - Solvent annealing is a versatile tool to adjust the shape and morphology of block copolymer (BCP) particles. During this process, polar solvents are often used for block-selective swelling. However, such water-miscible solvents can induce (partial) solubilization of one block in the surrounding aqueous medium, thus, causing complex structural variations and even particle disassembly. To reduce the complexity in morphology control, we focused on toluene as a nonpolar polystyrene-selective solvent for the annealing of striped polystyrene-b-poly(2-vinylpyridine) (PS-b-P2VP) ellipsoids. The selective stretching of PS chains produces unique asymmetric lamellae structures, which translate to an increase in the particle aspect ratio after toluene evaporation. Complete reversibility is achieved by changing to chloroform as a nonselective solvent. Moreover, surfactants can be used to tune block-selective wetting of the particle surface during the annealing; for example, a PS shell can protect the internal lamellae structure from disassembly. Overall, this versatile postassembly process enables the tailoring of the structural features of striped colloidal ellipsoids by only using commercial BCPs and solvents. KW - Small-angle X-ray scattering KW - SAXS KW - Nanoparticle KW - Polymer PY - 2022 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-543731 DO - https://doi.org/10.1021/acsmacrolett.1c00665 VL - 11 IS - 3 SP - 319 EP - 335 PB - American Chemical Society AN - OPUS4-54373 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Saloga, Patrick E. J. A1 - Rybak, Tina A1 - Thünemann, Andreas T1 - Microwave-Assisted Synthesis of ZnO Nanoparticles: Phase Transfer to Water JF - Advanced Engineering Materials N2 - Herein, a simple one-pot procedure is reported to obtain aqueous zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticle dispersions from ZnO nanoparticles dispersed in cyclohexane. In the process, polyoxyethylene (20) sorbitan monooleate (polysorbate 80, Tween 80) functions as a phase transfer agent and colloidal stabilizer. The particles grow in a defined manner during the transfer, presumably via coalescence. The final particle radii are tuneable in the range from 2.3 ± 0.1 nm to 5.7 ± 0.1 nm depending on the incubation time of the dispersion at 90 °C. Small-angle X-ray scattering is employed to determine the particle radius distributions before and after phase transfer. The larger ZnO particle radii are associated with a redshift of the optical bandgap and luminescence emission, as expected for semiconductor nanoparticles. The particles presented here exhibit a relative size distribution width of 20%, rendering them attractive for applications in, e.g., biology or catalysis. The latter application is demonstrated at the photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue dye. KW - SAXS KW - Small-angle X-ray scattering KW - nanoparticle PY - 2022 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-551502 DO - https://doi.org/10.1002/adem.202101276 VL - 24 IS - 6 SP - 1 EP - 7 PB - Wiley AN - OPUS4-55150 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Navarro, L. A1 - Thünemann, Andreas A1 - Yokosawa, T. A1 - Spiecker, E. A1 - Klinger, D. T1 - Regioselective Seeded Polymerization in Block Copolymer Nanoparticles: Post-Assembly Control of Colloidal Features JF - Angewandte Chemie N2 - Post-assembly modifications are efficient tools to adjust colloidal features of block copolymer (BCP) particles. However, existing methods often address particle shape, morphology, and chemical functionality individually. For simultaneous control, we transferred the concept of seeded polymerization to phase separated BCP particles. Key to our approach is the regioselective polymerization of (functional) monomers inside specific BCP domains. This was demonstrated in striped PS-b-P2VP ellipsoids. Here, polymerization of styrene preferably occurs in PS domains and increases PS lamellar thickness up to 5-fold. The resulting asymmetric lamellar morphology also changes the particle shape, i.e., increases the aspect ratio. Using 4-vinylbenzyl azide as co-monomer, azides as chemical functionalities can be added selectively to the PS domains. Overall, our simple and versatile method gives access to various multifunctional BCP colloids from a single batch of pre-formed particles. KW - Small-angle X-ray scattering KW - SAXS KW - Nanostructure KW - Polymer KW - Nanoparticle PY - 2022 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-557246 DO - https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.202208084 SN - 1433-7851 VL - 61 IS - 35 SP - 1 EP - 11 PB - Wiley CY - Weinheim AN - OPUS4-55724 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Paul, M. B. A1 - Fahrenson, C. A1 - Givelet, L. A1 - Herrmann, T. A1 - Loescher, K. A1 - Böhmert, L. A1 - Thünemann, Andreas A1 - Braeuning, A. A1 - Sieg, H. T1 - Beyond microplastics ‑ investigation on health impacts of submicron and nanoplastic particles after oral uptake in vitro JF - Microplastics and Nanoplastics N2 - The continuously increasing use of plastics is supposed to result in a rising exposure of MNPs to humans. Available data on human health risks of microplastics after oral uptake increased immensely in the past years and indicates very likely only low risks after oral consumption. Concerning nanoplastics, uptake, transport and potential adverse effects after oral uptake are less well understood. This study aims to investigate differences between microplastic particles and particles in the submicron- and nanoscaled size derived from food-relevant polymers with a particle size range consistent with higher potential for cellular uptake, fate, and effects when applied to human intestinal and liver cells. This work includes the development of cellular and subcellular detection methods for synthetic polymeric particles in the micro- and nanometer-range, using Scanning Electron Microscopy, Small-Angle X-ray and Dynamic Light Scattering methods, Asymmetric Flow Field Flow Fractionation, octanol-water fractionation, fluorescence microscopy and flow cytometry. Polylactic acid (250 nm and 2 μm (polydisperse)), melamine formaldehyde (366 nm) and polymethylmethacrylate (25 nm) were thoroughly characterized. The submicro- and nanoplastic test particles showed an increased uptake and transport quantity through intestinal cells. Both types of particles resulted in observed differences of uptake behavior, most likely influenced by different lipophilicity, which varied between the polymeric test materials. Toxic effects were detected after 24 h only in overload situations for the particles in the submicrometer range. This study provides further evidence for gastrointestinal uptake of submicro- and nanoplastics and points towards differences regarding bioavailability between microplastics and smaller plastic particles that may result following the ingestion of contaminated food and beverages. Furthermore, the results reinforce the importance for studying nanoplastics of different materials of varying size, surface properties, polymer composition and hydrophobicity. KW - Small-angle X-ray scattering KW - SAXS KW - nanoparticle PY - 2022 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-550741 DO - https://doi.org/10.1186/s43591-022-00036-0 VL - 2 SP - 1 EP - 19 PB - Springer Nature AN - OPUS4-55074 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Sieg, H. A1 - Klusmann, L. A1 - Ellermann, A. L. A1 - Böhmert, L. A1 - Thünemann, Andreas A1 - Braeuning, A. T1 - Counterions determine uptake and effects of aluminum in human intestinal and liver cells JF - Toxicology in Vitro N2 - Aluminum (Al) is highly abundant in the biosphere and can occur in different physico-chemical states. It is present in human food and undergoes transitions between dissolved and particulate species during the passage of the gastrointestinal tract. Moreover, in a complex matrix such as food different inorganic and organic counterions can affect the chemical behavior of Al following oral uptake. In this work, the effects of different counterions, namely chloride, citrate, sulfate, lactate and acetylacetonate, on Al uptake and toxicity in the human intestine are studied. The respective Al salts showed different dissolution behavior in biological media and formed nanoscaled particles correlating in reverse with the amount of their dissolved fraction. The passage through the intestinal barrier was studied using a Caco-2 Transwell® system, showing counterion-dependent variance in cellular uptake and transport. In addition, Al toxicity was investigated using Al species (Al3+, metallic Al0 and oxidic γAl2O3 nanoparticles) and counterions individually or in mixtures on Caco-2 and HepG2 cells. The strongest toxicity was observed using a combination of Al species, depending on solubility, and the lipophilic counterion acetylacetonate. Notably, only the combination of both led to toxicity, while both substances individually did not show toxic effects. A toxification of previously non-toxic Al-species by the presence of acetylacetonate is shown here for the first time. The dependency on the concentration of free Al ions was demonstrated using sodium hydrogen phosphate, which was able to counteract the toxic effects by complexing free Al ions. These findings, using Al salts as an example for a common food contaminant, underline the importance of a consideration of the chemical properties of human nutrition, especially dissolution and hydrophobicity, which can significantly influence the cellular uptake and effects of xenobiotic substances. KW - SAXS KW - Small-angle X-ray scattering KW - Nanoparticle PY - 2022 DO - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tiv.2021.105295 VL - 79 SP - 1 EP - 7 PB - Elsevier AN - OPUS4-54110 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -