document

Molecular Arrangement and Thermal Properties of Bisamide Organogelators in the Solid State

Ghanbari, E. (author), Krishnamurthy, Aravind (author), Picken, S.J. (author), Klop, Enno A. (author), Bannenberg, L.J. (author), van Esch, J.H. (author)

The crystal structure and phase behavior of bisamide gelators are investigated using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), and molecular modeling, aiming at a better understanding of bisamide gel systems. A homologous series of bisamide model compounds (nBAs) was prepared...

journal article 2022

document

Gelation Kinetics-Structure Analysis of pH-triggered Low Molecular Weight Hydrogelators

Lakshminarayanan, Vasudevan (author), Chockalingam, Cindhuja (author), Mendes, E. (author), van Esch, J.H. (author)

Properties such as shear modulus, gelation time, structure of supramolecular hydrogels are strongly dependent on self-assembly, gelation triggering mechanism and processes used to form the gel. In our work we extend reported rheology analysis methodologies to pH-triggered supramolecular gels to understand structural insight using a model...

journal article 2021

document

How the Choice of Force-Field Affects the Stability and Self-Assembly Process of Supramolecular CTA Fibers

Piskorz, T.K. (author), De Vries, A. H. (author), van Esch, J.H. (author)

In recent years, computational methods have become an essential element of studies focusing on the self-assembly process. Although they provide unique insights, they face challenges, from which two are the most often mentioned in the literature: the temporal and spatial scale of the self-assembly. A less often mentioned issue, but not less...

journal article 2021

document

An Implantable Artificial Atherosclerotic Plaque as a Novel Approach for Drug Transport Studies on Drug-Eluting Stents

Razzi, F. (author), Lovrak, M. (author), Gruzdyte, Dovile (author), Den Hartog, Yvette (author), Duncker, Dirk J. (author), van Esch, J.H. (author), van Steijn, V. (author), van Beusekom, Heleen M.M. (author)

Atherosclerotic arteries are commonly treated using drug-eluting stents (DES). However, it remains unclear whether and how the properties of atherosclerotic plaque affect drug transport in the arterial wall. A limitation of the currently used atherosclerotic animal models to study arterial drug distribution is the unpredictability of plaque...

journal article 2021

document

Tuneable Control of Organocatalytic Activity through Host–Guest Chemistry

Li, G. (author), Trausel, F. (author), van der Helm, M. (author), Klemm, B. (author), Breve, T. (author), van Rossum, S.A.P. (author), Hartono, Muhamad (author), Gerlings, Harm H.P.J. (author), Lovrak, M. (author), van Esch, J.H. (author), Eelkema, R. (author)

Dynamic regulation of chemical reactivity is important in many complex chemical reaction networks, such as cascade reactions and signal transduction processes. Signal responsive catalysts could play a crucial role in regulating these reaction pathways. Recently, supramolecular encapsulation was reported to regulate the activities of...

journal article 2021

document

Biomimetic Strain-Stiffening Self-Assembled Hydrogels

Wang, Yiming (author), Xu, Zhi (author), Lovrak, M. (author), le Sage, V.A.A. (author), Zhang, K. (author), Guo, Xuhong (author), Eelkema, R. (author), Mendes, E. (author), van Esch, J.H. (author)

Supramolecular structures with strain-stiffening properties are ubiquitous in nature but remain rare in the lab. Herein, we report on strain-stiffening supramolecular hydrogels that are entirely produced through the self-assembly of synthetic molecular gelators. The involved gelators self-assemble into semi-flexible fibers, which thereby...

journal article 2020

document

Transient Supramolecular Hydrogels Formed by Aging-Induced Seeded Self-Assembly of Molecular Hydrogelators

Wang, Yiming (author), Piskorz, T.K. (author), Lovrak, M. (author), Mendes, E. (author), Guo, Xuhong (author), Eelkema, R. (author), van Esch, J.H. (author)

Here, transient supramolecular hydrogels that are formed through simple aging-induced seeded self-assembly of molecular gelators are reported. In the involved molecular self-assembly system, multicomponent gelators are formed from a mixture of precursor molecules and, typically, can spontaneously self-assemble into thermodynamically more...

journal article 2020

document

Imaging-assisted hydrogel formation for single cell isolation

Oldenhof, S. (author), Mytnyk, S. (author), Gil Arranja, A. (author), de Puit, M. (author), van Esch, J.H. (author)

We report a flexible single-cell isolation method by imaging-assisted hydrogel formation. Our approach consists of imaging-aided selective capture of cells of interest by encasing them into a polymeric hydrogel, followed by removal of unwanted cells and subsequent release of isolated cells by enzymatic hydrogel degradation, thus offering an...

journal article 2020

document

Dual-Functionalized Crescent Microgels for Selectively Capturing and Killing Cancer Cells

Liu, Q. (author), Yuan, Z. (author), Guo, Xuhong (author), van Esch, J.H. (author)

In cancer therapy, the selective targeting of cancer cells while avoiding side effects to normal cells is still full of challenges. Here, we developed dual-functionalized crescent microgels, which selectively captured and killed lung cancer cells in situ without killing other cells. Crescent microgels with the inner surface of the cavity...

journal article 2020

document

Transient supramolecular hydrogels formed by catalytic control over molecular self-assembly

Wang, Hucheng (author), Liu, Liqun (author), Bai, Shengyu (author), Guo, Xuhong (author), Eelkema, R. (author), van Esch, J.H. (author), Wang, Y. (author)

The present work shows how transient supramolecular hydrogels can be formed by catalytically controlled molecular self-assembly. Catalysis formation of molecular gelators leads the self-assembly along a kinetically favored pathway, resulting in transient hydrogels. This work demonstrates an effective approach towards pathway-dependent...

journal article 2020

document

Nucleation Mechanisms of Self-Assembled Physisorbed Monolayers on Graphite

Piskorz, T.K. (author), Gobbo, Cristian (author), Marrink, Siewert J. (author), De Feyter, Steven (author), De Vries, Alex H. (author), van Esch, J.H. (author)

Coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulations are employed to obtain a detailed view of the formation of long-range ordered lamellar structures of physisorbed self-assembling long functionalized alkanes on graphite. During the self-assembly, two processes take place: Langmuir preferential adsorption and rearrangement on the surface. The...

journal article 2019

document

Self-orienting hydrogel micro-buckets as novel cell carriers

Liu, Q. (author), Zhao, M. (author), Mytnyk, S. (author), Klemm, B. (author), Zhang, K. (author), Wang, Y. (author), Yan, Dadong (author), Mendes, E. (author), van Esch, J.H. (author)

Hydrogel microparticles are important in materials engineering, but their applications remain limited owing to the difficulties associated with their manipulation. Herein, we report the self-orientation of crescent-shaped hydrogel microparticles and elucidate its mechanism. Additionally, the microparticles were used, for the first time, as...

journal article 2019

document

Pull-off and friction forces of micropatterned elastomers on soft substrates: The effects of pattern length scale and stiffness

van Assenbergh, S.P. (author), Fokker, Marike (author), Langowski, Julian (author), van Esch, J.H. (author), Kamperman, Marleen (author), Dodou, D. (author)

The adhesiveness of biological micropatterned adhesives primarily relies on their geometry (e.g., feature size, architecture) and material properties (e.g., stiffness). Over the last few decades, researchers have been mimicking the geometry and material properties of biological micropatterned adhesives. The performance of these biomimetic...

journal article 2019

document

Hierarchically Compartmentalized Supramolecular Gels through Multilevel Self-Sorting

Wang, Y. (author), Lovrak, M. (author), Liu, Q. (author), Maity, C. (author), le Sage, V.A.A. (author), Guo, Xuhong (author), Eelkema, R. (author), van Esch, J.H. (author)

Hierarchical compartmentalization through the bottom-up approach is ubiquitous in living cells but remains a formidable task in synthetic systems. Here we report on hierarchically compartmentalized supramolecular gels that are spontaneously formed by multilevel self-sorting. Two types of molecular gelators are formed in situ from...

journal article 2019

document

Control over the Formation of Supramolecular Material Objects Using Reaction-Diffusion

Lovrak, M. (author), Hendriksen, W.E.J. (author), Kreutzer, M.T. (author), van Steijn, V. (author), Eelkema, R. (author), van Esch, J.H. (author)

Controlled diffusion, reaction and assembly of hydrogelator precursors can be used to create soft hydrogel objects of defined shape and size. In this study we show that controlling local reaction kinetics by means of pH, diffusion length and the concentrations of reactants allows control over the dimensions of formed supramolecular structures....

journal article 2019

document

Locally pH controlled and directed growth of supramolecular gel microshapes using electrocatalytic nanoparticles

Lakshminarayanan, Vasudevan (author), Poltorak, L. (author), Bosma, D. (author), Sudhölter, Ernst J. R. (author), van Esch, J.H. (author), Mendes, E. (author)

Controlled localization of platinum nanoparticles (Pt NPs) at a solid support assisted by a polarized liquid-liquid interface is reported. Electrocatalytic water oxidation resulted in local pH modulation followed by the directed self-assembly of a dibenzoyl-l-cystine hydrogelator forming a structured hydrogel retaining the shape of the Pt NP...

journal article 2019

document

Effect of homogeneous acidic catalyst on mechanical strength of trishydrazone hydrogels: Characterization and optimization studies

Abdullah, Nor Hakimin (author), Wan Abu Bakar, Wan Azelee (author), Hussain, Rafaqat (author), Bakar, Mohd Bakri (author), van Esch, J.H. (author)

Characterization utilizing X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) revealed the presence of all the expected elements found in trishydrazone hydrogels (3). Morphological study on confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) revealed the branching and bundling of fibers that led hydrogels network as well as the...

journal article 2018

document

Collection of amino acids and DNA from fingerprints using hydrogels

van Helmond, W. (author), O'Brien, V. (author), de Jong, R. (author), van Esch, J.H. (author), Oldenhof, S. (author), de Puit, M. (author)

The amino acid profile obtained from a fingerprint may provide valuable information on its donor. For forensic scientists, recovering evidence relating to the amino acid profile of a suspect can potentially be valuable for identification and exclusion purposes. Herein we detail the use of cross-linkable solutions of dextran-methacrylate to...

journal article 2018

document

Two Robust Strategies toward Hydrogels from Quenched Block Copolymer Nanofibrillar Micelles

Zhang, K. (author), Suratkar, A.P. (author), Vedaraman, S. (author), Lakshminarayanan, V. (author), Jennings, L. (author), Glazer, P.J. (author), van Esch, J.H. (author), Mendes, E. (author)

While the formation of (tri)block copolymer hydrogels has been extensively investigated, such studies mostly focused on equilibrium self-assembling whereas the use of preformed structures as building blocks such as out of equilibrium, quenched, nanofibrillar micelles is still a challenge. Here, we demonstrate that quenched, ultralong...

journal article 2018

document

Mechanism of Ostwald Ripening in 2D Physisorbed Assemblies at Molecular Time and Length Scale by Molecular Dynamics Simulations

Piskorz, T.K. (author), De Vries, Alex H. (author), De Feyter, Steven (author), van Esch, J.H. (author)

Ostwald ripening can improve the long-range order of self-assembled monolayers by the growth of large domains and disassembly of smaller ones. Here, coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulations are used to study the dynamics of the stable assembly and the coarsening of defects of physisorbed monolayers of long-chain functionalized alkanes....

journal article 2018