@article{VacogneBrosnanMasicetal.2015, author = {Vacogne, Charlotte D. and Brosnan, Sarah M. and Masic, Admir and Schlaad, Helmut}, title = {Fibrillar gels via the self-assembly of poly(L-glutamate)-based statistical copolymers}, series = {Polymer Chemistry}, volume = {6}, journal = {Polymer Chemistry}, number = {28}, publisher = {Royal Society of Chemistry}, address = {Cambridge}, issn = {1759-9954}, doi = {10.1039/c5py00491h}, pages = {5040 -- 5052}, year = {2015}, abstract = {Polypeptides having secondary structures often undergo self-assembly which can extend over multiple length scales. Poly(gamma-benzyl-L-glutamate) (PBLG), for example, folds into a-helices and forms physical organogels, whereas poly(L-glutamic acid) (PLGA at acidic pH) or poly(L-glutamate) (PLG at neutral/basic pH) do not form hydrogels. We explored the gelation of modified PBLG and investigated the deprotection of the carboxylic acid moieties in such gels to yield unique hydrogels. This was accomplished through photo-crosslinking gelation of poly(gamma-benzyl-L-glutamate-co-allylglycine) statistical copolymers in toluene, tetrahydrofuran, and 1,4-dioxane. Unlike most polymer-based chemical gels, our gels were prepared from dilute solutions (<20 g L-1, i.e., <2\% w/v) of low molar mass polymers. Despite such low concentrations and molar masses, our dioxane gels showed high mechanical stability and little shrinkage; remarkably, they also exhibited a porous fibrillar network. Deprotection of the carboxylic acid moieties in dioxane gels yielded pH responsive and highly absorbent PLGA/PLG-based hydrogels (swelling ratio of up to 87), while preserving the network structure, which is an unprecedented feature in the context of crosslinked PLGA gels. These outstanding properties are highly attractive for biomedical materials.}, language = {en} } @article{CuiXiaMitzscherlingetal.2015, author = {Cui, Qianling and Xia, Bihua and Mitzscherling, Steffen and Masic, Admir and Li, Lidong and Bargheer, Matias and Moehwald, Helmuth}, title = {Preparation of gold nanostars and their study in selective catalytic reactions}, series = {Colloids and surfaces : an international journal devoted to the principles and applications of colloid and interface science ; A, Physicochemical and engineering aspects}, volume = {465}, journal = {Colloids and surfaces : an international journal devoted to the principles and applications of colloid and interface science ; A, Physicochemical and engineering aspects}, publisher = {Elsevier}, address = {Amsterdam}, issn = {0927-7757}, doi = {10.1016/j.colsurfa.2014.10.028}, pages = {20 -- 25}, year = {2015}, abstract = {In this work, gold nanostars (AuNSs) with size around 90 nm were prepared through an easy one-step method. They show excellent catalytic activity and large surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) activity at the same time. Surprisingly, they exhibited different catalytic performance on the reduction of aromatic nitro compounds with different substituents on the para position. To understand such a difference, the SERS spectra were recorded, showing that the molecular orientation of reactants on the gold surface were different. We anticipate that this research will help to understand the relationship of the molecular orientation with the catalytic activity of gold nanoparticles.}, language = {en} } @article{SchmittWinterBertinettietal.2015, author = {Schmitt, Clemens Nikolaus Zeno and Winter, Alette and Bertinetti, Luca and Masic, Admir and Strauch, Peter and Harrington, Matthew J.}, title = {Mechanical homeostasis of a DOPA-enriched biological coating from mussels in response to metal variation}, series = {Interface : journal of the Royal Society}, volume = {12}, journal = {Interface : journal of the Royal Society}, number = {110}, publisher = {Royal Society}, address = {London}, issn = {1742-5689}, doi = {10.1098/rsif.2015.0466}, pages = {8}, year = {2015}, abstract = {Protein metal coordination interactions were recently found to function as crucial mechanical cross-links in certain biological materials. Mussels, for example, use Fe ions from the local environment coordinated to DOPA-rich proteins to stiffen the protective cuticle of their anchoring byssal attachment threads. Bioavailability of metal ions in ocean habitats varies significantly owing to natural and anthropogenic inputs on both short and geological spatio-temporal scales leading to large variations in byssal thread metal composition; however, it is not clear how or if this affects thread performance. Here, we demonstrate that in natural environments mussels can opportunistically replace Fe ions in the DOPA coordination complex with V and Al. In vitro removal of the native DOPA metal complexes with ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid and replacement with either Fe or V does not lead to statistically significant changes in cuticle performance, indicating that each metal ion is equally sufficient as a DOPA cross-linking agent, able to account for nearly 85\% of the stiffness and hardness of the material. Notably, replacement with Al ions also leads to full recovery of stiffness, but only 82\% recovery of hardness. These findings have important implications for the adaptability of this biological material in a dynamically changing and unpredictable habitat.}, language = {en} } @article{CuiYashchenokZhangetal.2014, author = {Cui, Qianling and Yashchenok, Alexey and Zhang, Lu and Li, Lidong and Masic, Admir and Wienskol, Gabriele and Moehwald, Helmuth and Bargheer, Matias}, title = {Fabrication of Bifunctional Gold/Gelatin Hybrid Nanocomposites and Their Application}, series = {ACS applied materials \& interfaces}, volume = {6}, journal = {ACS applied materials \& interfaces}, number = {3}, publisher = {American Chemical Society}, address = {Washington}, issn = {1944-8244}, doi = {10.1021/am5000068}, pages = {1999 -- 2002}, year = {2014}, abstract = {Herein, a facile method is presented to integrate large gold nanoflowers (similar to 80 nm) and small gold nanoparticles (2-4 nm) into a single entity, exhibiting both surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) and catalytic activity. The as-prepared gold nanoflowers were coated by a gelatin layer, in which the gold precursor was adsorbed and in situ reduced into small gold nanoparticles. The thickness of the gelatin shell is controlled to less than 10 nm, ensuring that the small gold nanoparticles are still in a SERS-active range of the inner Au core. Therefore, the reaction catalyzed by these nanocomposites can be monitored in situ using label-free SERS spectroscopy. In addition, these bifunctional nanocomposites are also attractive candidates for application in SERS monitoring of bioreactions because of their excellent biocompatibility.}, language = {en} } @article{MantionGrafFloreaetal.2011, author = {Mantion, Alexandre and Graf, Philipp and Florea, Ileana and Haase, Andrea and Thuenemann, Andreas F. and Masic, Admir and Ersen, Ovidiu and Rabu, Pierre and Meier, Wolfgang P. and Luch, Andreas and Taubert, Andreas}, title = {Biomimetic synthesis of chiral erbium-doped silver/peptide/silica core-shell nanoparticles (ESPN)}, series = {Nanoscale}, volume = {3}, journal = {Nanoscale}, number = {12}, publisher = {Royal Society of Chemistry}, address = {Cambridge}, issn = {2040-3364}, doi = {10.1039/c1nr10930h}, pages = {5168 -- 5179}, year = {2011}, abstract = {Peptide-modified silver nanoparticles have been coated with an erbium-doped silica layer using a method inspired by silica biomineralization. Electron microscopy and small-angle X-ray scattering confirm the presence of an Ag/peptide core and silica shell. The erbium is present as small Er(2)O(3) particles in and on the silica shell. Raman, IR, UV-Vis, and circular dichroism spectroscopies show that the peptide is still present after shell formation and the nanoparticles conserve a chiral plasmon resonance. Magnetic measurements find a paramagnetic behavior. In vitro tests using a macrophage cell line model show that the resulting multicomponent nanoparticles have a low toxicity for macrophages, even on partial dissolution of the silica shell.}, language = {en} } @article{GrafMantionHaaseetal.2011, author = {Graf, Philipp and Mantion, Alexandre and Haase, Andrea and Thuenemann, Andreas F. and Masic, Admir and Meier, Wolfgang P. and Luch, Andreas and Taubert, Andreas}, title = {Silicification of peptide-coated silver nanoparticles-A biomimetic soft chemistry approach toward chiral hybrid core-shell materials}, series = {ACS nano}, volume = {5}, journal = {ACS nano}, number = {2}, publisher = {American Chemical Society}, address = {Washington}, issn = {1936-0851}, doi = {10.1021/nn102969p}, pages = {820 -- 833}, year = {2011}, abstract = {Silica and silver nanoparticles are relevant materials for new applications in optics, medicine, and analytical chemistry. We have previously reported the synthesis of pH responsive, peptide-templated, chiral silver nanoparticles. The current report shows that peptide-stabilized nanoparticles can easily be coated with a silica shell by exploiting the ability of the peptide coating to hydrolyze silica precursors such as TEOS or TMOS. The resulting silica layer protects the nanoparticles from chemical etching, allows their inclusion in other materials, and renders them biocompatible. Using electron and atomic force microscopy, we show that the silica shell thickness and the particle aggregation can be controlled simply by the reaction time. Small-angle X ray scattering confirms the Ag/peptide@silica core-shell structure. UV-vis and circular dichroism spectroscopy prove the conservation of the silver nanoparticle chirality upon silicification. Biological tests show that the biocompatibility in simple bacterial systems is significantly improved once a silica layer is deposited on the silver particles.}, language = {en} } @article{HaaseArlinghausTentschertetal.2011, author = {Haase, Andrea and Arlinghaus, Heinrich F. and Tentschert, Jutta and Jungnickel, Harald and Graf, Philipp and Mantion, Alexandre and Draude, Felix and Galla, Sebastian and Plendl, Johanna and Goetz, Mario E. and Masic, Admir and Meier, Wolfgang P. and Thuenemann, Andreas F. and Taubert, Andreas and Luch, Andreas}, title = {Application of Laser Postionization Secondary Neutral Mass Spectrometry/Time-of-Flight Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry in Nanotoxicology: Visualization of Nanosilver in Human Macrophages and Cellular Responses}, series = {ACS nano}, volume = {5}, journal = {ACS nano}, number = {4}, publisher = {American Chemical Society}, address = {Washington}, issn = {1936-0851}, doi = {10.1021/nn200163w}, pages = {3059 -- 3068}, year = {2011}, abstract = {Silver nanoparticles (SNP) are the subject of worldwide commercialization because of their antimicrobial effects. Yet only little data on their mode of action exist. Further, only few techniques allow for visualization and quantification of unlabeled nanoparticles inside cells. To study SNP of different sizes and coatings within human macrophages, we introduce a novel laser postionization secondary neutral mass spectrometry (Laser-SNMS) approach and prove this method superior to the widely applied confocal Raman and transmission electron microscopy. With time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (TOF-SIMS) we further demonstrate characteristic fingerprints in the lipid pattern of the cellular membrane indicative of oxidative stress and membrane fluidity changes. Increases of protein carbonyl and heme oxygenase-1 levels in treated cells confirm the presence of oxidative stress biochemically. Intriguingly, affected phagocytosis reveals as highly sensitive end point of SNP-mediated adversity In macrophages. The cellular responses monitored are. hierarchically linked, but follow individual kinetics and are partially reversible.}, language = {en} } @article{ErmeydanCabaneMasicetal.2012, author = {Ermeydan, Mahmut Ali and Cabane, Etienne and Masic, Admir and Koetz, Joachim and Burgert, Ingo}, title = {Flavonoid insertion into cell walls improves wood properties}, series = {ACS applied materials \& interfaces}, volume = {4}, journal = {ACS applied materials \& interfaces}, number = {11}, publisher = {American Chemical Society}, address = {Washington}, issn = {1944-8244}, doi = {10.1021/am301266k}, pages = {5782 -- 5789}, year = {2012}, abstract = {Wood has an excellent mechanical performance, but wider utilization of this renewable resource as an engineering material is limited by unfavorable properties such as low dimensional stability upon moisture changes and a low durability. However, some wood species are known to produce a wood of higher quality by inserting mainly phenolic substances in the already formed cell walls a process so-called heartwood formation. In the present study, we used the heartwood formation in black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia) as a source of bioinspiration and transferred principles of the modification in order to improve spruce wood properties (Picea abies) by a chemical treatment with commercially available flavonoids. We were able to effectively insert hydrophobic flavonoids in the cell wall after a tosylation treatment for activation. The chemical treatment reduced the water uptake of the wood cell walls and increased the dimensional stability of the bulk spruce wood. Further analysis of the chemical interaction of the flavonoid with the structural cell wall components revealed the basic principle of this bioinspired modification. Contrary to established modification treatments, which mainly address the hydroxyl groups of the carbohydrates with hydrophilic substances, the hydrophobic flavonoids are effective by a physical bulking in the cell wall most probably stabilized by pi-pi interactions. A biomimetic transfer of the underlying principle may lead to alternative cell wall modification procedures and improve the performance of wood as an engineering material.}, language = {en} } @article{SchlaadYouSigeletal.2009, author = {Schlaad, Helmut and You, Liangchen and Sigel, Reinhard and Smarsly, Bernd and Heydenreich, Matthias and Mantion, Alexandre and Masic, Admir}, title = {Glycopolymer vesicles with an asymmetric membrane}, issn = {1359-7345}, doi = {10.1039/B820887e}, year = {2009}, abstract = {Direct dissolution of glycosylated polybutadiene-poly(ethylene oxide) block copolymers can lead to the spontaneous formation of vesicles or membranes, which on the outside are coated with glucose and on the inside with poly(ethylene oxide).}, language = {en} }