molecules-logo

Journal Browser

Journal Browser

Soft Matter Nanostructures—Fabrication, Interactions and Applications: In Honor of Prof. Dr. Michael Rappolt’s 60th Birthday

A special issue of Molecules (ISSN 1420-3049). This special issue belongs to the section "Macromolecular Chemistry".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 October 2024) | Viewed by 7616

Special Issue Editor


E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Food Science and Nutrition, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK
Interests: nanoscience; physical chemistry; lipid biophysics; biomimetic self-assembly; X-ray scattering
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue is dedicated to Professor Michael Rappolt on his 60th birthday. Professor Rappolt has contributed to the field of soft matter using various small- and wide-angle scattering techniques to investigate the structure, shape and flexibility of lipid-based model membranes.

Michael Rappolt holds a Leadership Chair of Lipid Biophysics at the School of Food Science and Nutrition at the University of Leeds. He is a leading authority on the use of various small- and wide-angle scattering techniques on investigating the structure, shape and flexibility of model membranes with various, ground-breaking achievements, concerning their nanostructural and mechanical analysis. His vision has always been building bridges between Physics (nanostructure of self-assembled soft matter), Biology (biointerfaces), Chemistry (response of membranes to environmental changes) and Applied Research (food, health and bioenergy sectors). Recently, his research focusses on the interplay of confined water in lipid self-assemblies with the aim to obtain a more holistic model of biomembrane interfaces.

Michael’s educational carrier started at the University of Hamburg, where he received his MSc in Physics in 1991. Thereafter, in 1995, he was promoted with ‘summa cum laude’ with his PhD thesis on “Time-Resolved X-ray Diffraction Studies on Model Membrane Phase Transitions”. These synchrotron light-based works were carried out at the European Biology Laboratories in Hamburg. After his time in Germany, he moved to Trieste in Italy in 1996, first working as a Post-Doctoral Fellow, then as Marie Curie Fellow (1998‒1999), and, later, as senior researcher at the Austrian Small-Angle X-ray Scattering Beamline until 2012. In this period, he was employed by the Academy of Sciences and, in the final year, by the Graz University of Technology. His growing networking activities in the lipid self-assembly research field, provided him with the opportunity to carry out his Habilitation at the University of Ljubljana in March 2011, just two years before he received an offer to work as a Professor of Lipid Biophysics at the University of Leeds.

Soft matter nanostructures, including polymers, colloids and biomolecules, have gained significant attention in recent years due to their unique properties and potential applications in various fields such as food, biomedicine, energy and materials science.

This Special Issue aims to bring together the latest advances in the fabrication, characterization and functionalization of soft matter nanostructures, as well as their interactions with each other and external stimuli. We welcome original research articles, reviews and perspectives on topics including but not limited to:

  • Fabrication techniques for soft matter nanostructures, including templating, self-assembly and lithograph;
  • Characterization techniques for soft matter nanostructures to reveal novel nanoscale features and their dynamics including in-operando techniques;
  • Novel properties and applications of soft matter nanostructures, including drug delivery, functional food formulations, sensing and energy conversion;
  • Interactions of soft matter nanostructures in the biological environment and/or their response to stimuli such as light, temperature, tension and electric fields;
  • Theoretical and computational studies on the properties and behavior of soft matter nanostructures.

We invite researchers in the field to contribute their latest research to this Special Issue. We look forward to receiving your submissions.

Dr. Amin Sadeghpour
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Molecules is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • soft matter nanotechnology
  • lipid membranes
  • self-assembly techniques
  • nanostructure characterization
  • external stimuli response
  • biointerfaces
  • computational modeling of soft matter

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • e-Book format: Special Issues with more than 10 articles can be published as dedicated e-books, ensuring wide and rapid dissemination.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue polices can be found here.

Published Papers (3 papers)

Order results
Result details
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

Jump to: Review

29 pages, 12870 KiB  
Article
Multiscale Modeling of Macromolecular Interactions between Tau-Amylin Oligomers and Asymmetric Lipid Nanodomains That Link Alzheimer’s and Diabetic Diseases
by Natalia Santos, Luthary Segura, Amber Lewis, Thuong Pham and Kwan H. Cheng
Molecules 2024, 29(3), 740; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules29030740 - 5 Feb 2024
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1954
Abstract
The molecular events of protein misfolding and self-aggregation of tau and amylin are associated with the progression of Alzheimer’s and diabetes, respectively. Recent studies suggest that tau and amylin can form hetero-tau-amylin oligomers. Those hetero-oligomers are more neurotoxic than homo-tau oligomers. So far, [...] Read more.
The molecular events of protein misfolding and self-aggregation of tau and amylin are associated with the progression of Alzheimer’s and diabetes, respectively. Recent studies suggest that tau and amylin can form hetero-tau-amylin oligomers. Those hetero-oligomers are more neurotoxic than homo-tau oligomers. So far, the detailed interactions between the hetero-oligomers and the neuronal membrane are unknown. Using multiscale MD simulations, the lipid binding and protein folding behaviors of hetero-oligomers on asymmetric lipid nanodomains or raft membranes were examined. Our raft membranes contain phase-separated phosphatidylcholine (PC), cholesterol, and anionic phosphatidylserine (PS) or ganglioside (GM1) in one leaflet of the lipid bilayer. The hetero-oligomers bound more strongly to the PS and GM1 than other lipids via the hydrophobic and hydrophilic interactions, respectively, in the raft membranes. The hetero-tetramer disrupted the acyl chain orders of both PC and PS in the PS-containing raft membrane, but only the GM1 in the GM1-containing raft membrane as effectively as the homo-tau-tetramer. We discovered that the alpha-helical content in the heterodimer was greater than the sum of alpha-helical contents from isolated tau and amylin monomers on both raft membranes, indicative of a synergetic effect of tau-amylin interactions in surface-induced protein folding. Our results provide new molecular insights into understanding the cross-talk between Alzheimer’s and diabetes. Full article
Show Figures

Figure 1

14 pages, 3803 KiB  
Article
γ-Cyclodextrin Metal-Organic Frameworks: Do Solvents Make a Difference?
by Jia X. Oh, Brent S. Murray, Alan R. Mackie, Rammile Ettelaie, Amin Sadeghpour and Ruggero Frison
Molecules 2023, 28(19), 6876; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules28196876 - 29 Sep 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1900
Abstract
Conventionally, methanol is the solvent of choice in the synthesis of gamma-cyclodextrin metal-organic frameworks (γ-CD-MOFs), but using ethanol as a replacement could allow for a more food-grade synthesis condition. Therefore, the aim of the study was to compare the γ-CD-MOFs synthesised with both [...] Read more.
Conventionally, methanol is the solvent of choice in the synthesis of gamma-cyclodextrin metal-organic frameworks (γ-CD-MOFs), but using ethanol as a replacement could allow for a more food-grade synthesis condition. Therefore, the aim of the study was to compare the γ-CD-MOFs synthesised with both methanol and ethanol. The γ-CD-MOFs were characterised by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), surface area and pore measurement, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD). The encapsulation efficiency (EE) and loading capacity (LC) of the γ-CD-MOFs were also determined for curcumin, using methanol, ethanol and a mixture of the two as encapsulation solvent. It was found that γ-CD-MOFs synthesised by methanol and ethanol do not differ greatly, the most significant difference being the larger crystal size of γ-CD-MOFs crystallised from ethanol. However, the change in solvent significantly influenced the EE and LC of the crystals. The higher solubility of curcumin in ethanol reduced interactions with the γ-CD-MOFs and resulted in lowered EE and LC. This suggests that different solvents should be used to deliberately manipulate the EE and LC of target compounds for better use of γ-CD-MOFs as their encapsulating and delivery agents. Full article
Show Figures

Graphical abstract

Review

Jump to: Research

19 pages, 3069 KiB  
Review
Recent Advances in Antibacterial Coatings to Combat Orthopedic Implant-Associated Infections
by Seref Akay and Anan Yaghmur
Molecules 2024, 29(5), 1172; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules29051172 - 6 Mar 2024
Cited by 13 | Viewed by 3205
Abstract
Implant-associated infections (IAIs) represent a major health burden due to the complex structural features of biofilms and their inherent tolerance to antimicrobial agents and the immune system. Thus, the viable options to eradicate biofilms embedded on medical implants are surgical operations and long-term [...] Read more.
Implant-associated infections (IAIs) represent a major health burden due to the complex structural features of biofilms and their inherent tolerance to antimicrobial agents and the immune system. Thus, the viable options to eradicate biofilms embedded on medical implants are surgical operations and long-term and repeated antibiotic courses. Recent years have witnessed a growing interest in the development of robust and reliable strategies for prevention and treatment of IAIs. In particular, it seems promising to develop materials with anti-biofouling and antibacterial properties for combating IAIs on implants. In this contribution, we exclusively focus on recent advances in the development of modified and functionalized implant surfaces for inhibiting bacterial attachment and eventually biofilm formation on orthopedic implants. Further, we highlight recent progress in the development of antibacterial coatings (including self-assembled nanocoatings) for preventing biofilm formation on orthopedic implants. Among the recently introduced approaches for development of efficient and durable antibacterial coatings, we focus on the use of safe and biocompatible materials with excellent antibacterial activities for local delivery of combinatorial antimicrobial agents for preventing and treating IAIs and overcoming antimicrobial resistance. Full article
Show Figures

Figure 1

Back to TopTop