P. Macha, V. Soni, M. Mayes, M.C. Vasudev
University of Massachusetts Dartmouth,
United States
Keywords: self assembly, plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition, neuronal cell proliferation, characterization
Summary:
Self-assembly of biomolecules such as aromatic dipeptides forms functional and biocompatible nanostructures of various structures and biomedical applications. Solution-phase self-assembly (SPSA) and an eco-friendly technique i.e. plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD), were used to synthesize peptide nanotubes. The process of self-assembly and forces involved were studied using quantum chemical computational methods at different levels of theories like dispersion-corrected density functional and Moller-Plesset perturbation. These nanotubes were examined for their biophysicochemical surface properties using various techniques. Morphological features of these nanostructures were studied using scanning electron and transmission electron and confocal microscopy. Thermochemical characterization was carried out using differential scanning calorimetry and thermogravimetric analysis, Fourier transforms infrared spectroscopy, liquid chromatography-mass spectroscopy, Raman scattering, nuclear magnetic resonance, and powder x-ray diffraction, and circular dichroism spectroscopy. Rat adrenal pheochromocytoma (PC-12), human neuronal cell lines (SH-SY5Y) and neural progenitor cells were used for MTT (3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide) cytotoxicity studies, dopamine-enzyme linked immunosorbent assay, and real-time polymerase chain reaction (q-PCR). In addition, differences in cellular proliferation and gene expression of the cells grown on peptide nanostructures were observed.