New generations of synthetic biomaterials are being developed at a rapid pace for use as three-dimensional extracellular microenvironments to mimic the regulatory characteristics of natural extracellular matrices (ECMs) and ECM-bound growth factors, both for therapeutic applications and basic biological studies. Recent advances include nanofibrillar networks formed by self-assembly of small building blocks, artificial ECM networks from protein polymers or peptide-conjugated synthetic polymers that present bioactive ligands and respond to cell-secreted signals to enable proteolytic remodeling. These materials have already found application in differentiating stem cells into neurons, repairing bone and inducing angiogenesis. Although modern synthetic biomaterials represent oversimplified mimics of natural ECMs lacking the essential natural temporal and spatial complexity, a growing symbiosis of materials engineering and cell biology may ultimately result in synthetic materials that contain the necessary signals to recapitulate developmental processes in tissue- and organ-specific differentiation and morphogenesis.

https://sisu.ut.ee/sites/default/files/quantum/files/synthetic_biomaterials_as_instructive_extracellular_microenvironments_for_morphogenesis_in_tissue_engineering_lutolf_m.p_hubbell_j.a_2005_0.pdf

Synthetic biomaterials as instructive extracellular microenvironments for morphogenesis in tissue engineering

Dye and its removal from aqueous solution by adsorption: A review

Mesoporous organic-inorganic hybrid materials, a new class of materials characterized by large specific surface areas and pore sizes between 2 and 15 nm, have been obtained through the coupling of inorganic and organic components by template synthesis. The incorporation of functionalities can be achieved in three ways: by subsequent attachment of organic components onto a pure silica matrix (grafting), by simultaneous reaction of condensable inorganic silica species and silylated organic compounds (co-condensation, one-pot synthesis), and by the use of bissilylated organic precursors that lead to periodic mesoporous organosilicas (PMOs). This Review gives an overview of the preparation, properties, and potential applications of these materials in the areas of catalysis, sorption, chromatography, and the construction of systems for controlled release of active compounds, as well as molecular switches, with the main focus being on PMOs.

Silica-based mesoporous organic-inorganic hybrid materials.

Block copolymer (BCP) self-assembly has attracted considerable attention for many decades because it can yield ordered structures in a wide range of morphologies, including spheres, cylinders, bicontinuous structures, lamellae, vesicles, and many other complex or hierarchical assemblies. These aggregates provide potential or practical applications in many fields. The present tutorial review introduces the primary principles of BCP self-assembly in bulk and in solution, by describing experiments, theories, accessible morphologies and morphological transitions, factors affecting the morphology, thermodynamics and kinetics, among others. As one specific example at a more advanced level, BCP vesicles (polymersomes) and their potential applications are discussed in some detail.

/pdf/self-assembly-of-block-copolymers-381hzqnmce.pdf

Self-assembly of block copolymers

Beyond molecular chemistry based on the covalent bond, supramolecular chemistry aims at developing highly complex chemical systems from components interacting through noncovalent intermolecular forces. Over the past quarter century, supramolecular chemistry has grown into a major field and has fueled numerous developments at the interfaces with biology and physics. Some of the conceptual advances and future challenges are profiled here.

https://science.sciencemag.org/content/sci/295/5564/2400.full.pdf

Toward Self-Organization and Complex Matter

«Gemini surfactant» is a name assigned to a family of synthetic amphiphiles possessing, in sequence, a long hydrocarbon chain, an ionic group, a spacer, a second ionic group, and another hydrocarbon tail. Intramolocular chain/chain association was inhibited through the use of rigid spacers, thereby averting self-assembly into conventional micellar structures. Aggregation of the geminis was investigated by (a) surface tension, (b) film-balance methods, (c) dynamic light scattering, (d) 1 H and 23 Na NMR, and (e) spectral changes in an adsorbed dye

Fredric M. Menger

Papers

Gemini surfactants: a new class of self-assembling molecules

Gemini surfactants : synthesis and properties

The structure of micelles

Enzyme catalysis in water pools

Degradation of a persistent organic dye from colored textile wastewater by ozonation.