Construction of Peptide Amphiphile-Coated Coacervates with Selective Permeability
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: The combination of membranes with coacervates has been regarded as an effective approach to stabilize coacervates and modify their surface properties. Here, we achieved the construction of a functional coacervate system by localizing nanovesicles assembled by elastin-like peptide-block-collagen-like peptides (ELP-CLPs) on the surface of polyelectrolyte coacervates. The formation of the ELP-CLP coating was driven by electrostatic interactions between negatively charged ELP-CLP vesicles and positively charged coacervates. Altering the surface charge of ELP-CLP vesicles or coacervates disrupted the formation of coatings, and the formulation parameters, such as different mixing protocols and the order of adding the components, could be used to control the coating process. The ELP-CLP vesicle coating successfully functionalized the coacervates and presented the ability to control the diffusion of molecules based on their different molecular weights. Our results demonstrated approaches to control the coating process and coating functionality of ELP-CLP vesicle coatings and highlighted their potential application as a novel surface modification to provide selective permeability to current coacervate systems.
Institution: University of Delaware
Language: English
Subfield: Physical and Theoretical Chemistry
Field: Chemistry
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $4,500
Funders: National Science Foundation, Delaware IDeA Network of Biomedical Research Excellence, National Institutes of Health, National Institute of General Medical Sciences, Division of Materials Research, National Center for Research Resources, Division of Chemical, Bioengineering, Environmental, and Transport Systems
Awards: G1089988680, G1177608224, Zeiss LSM710 Inverted Confocal Microscope, G1451002057, G1883723449, G2389110081, Data Management and Storage System for Shared Resource Facilities, G3115553707, G4444685404, G4539605568, G4624185658, Acquisition of a Zeiss LSM710 Confocal Microscope, Reverse engineering methods for elucidating the molecular assembly mechanisms of thermoresponsive peptide-based conjugates: computation and experiment, Delaware INBRE, G6345397415, G6718912342, University of Delaware MRSEC - Center for Hybrid, Active, and Responsive Materials (CHARM), Collaborative Research: ProteoCell: The Fat-Free Cell, G9000014540, G9000019295, G9000093202, G9000125231
OpenAlex ID: W7129197993