| Title: |
Controlling the Assembly of Ureido-Pyrimidinone Supramolecular Monomers by Tuning the Hydrophilic-Hydrophobic Balance |
| Authors: |
Bellan, Riccardo; Cardellini, Annalisa; Perego, Claudio; Paffen, Lars J.M.M.; Rijns, Laura; Pavan, Giovanni M.; Dankers, Patricia Y.W. |
| Source: |
Bellan, R, Cardellini, A, Perego, C, Paffen, L J M M, Rijns, L, Pavan, G M & Dankers, P Y W 2026, 'Controlling the Assembly of Ureido-Pyrimidinone Supramolecular Monomers by Tuning the Hydrophilic-Hydrophobic Balance', Journal of Polymer Science, vol. 64, no. 3, pp. 682-690. https://doi.org/10.1002/pol.20250943 |
| Publication Year: |
2026 |
| Subject Terms: |
cryoTEM; molecular dynamics simulations; self-assembly; supramolecular polymers; ureido-pyrimidinone |
| Description: |
Understanding the self-assembly of supramolecular monomers in water is essential to develop responsive and bioactive biomaterials. In this work, a series of water-compatible ureido-pyrimidinone (UPy) derivatives differing in the length of the oligo(ethylene glycol) chain and of the alkyl-urea spacer are prepared. The self-assembly behavior of each monomer is elucidated in water by means of experimental techniques and computational molecular modeling, unveiling the importance of the monomer hydrophilic-hydrophobic balance in the self-assembly properties and morphology of the resulting supramolecular polymers. Even though the increasing size of the alkyl-urea spacer is shown to foster both the UPy dimerization and the π–π stacking of the dimers, molecular dynamics simulations highlight a competitive intramolecular interaction between the UPy core and the lateral urea moiety, leading to the formation of sheet-like structures rather than one-dimensional supramolecular polymers in water. The findings of this work highlight the importance of monomer design on the self-assembly properties of UPy systems, paving the way towards the development of novel supramolecular biomaterials with tuneable properties. |
| Document Type: |
article in journal/newspaper |
| File Description: |
application/pdf |
| Language: |
English |
| ISSN: |
2642-4150; 2642-4169 |
| Relation: |
info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/pissn/2642-4150; info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/eissn/2642-4169 |
| DOI: |
10.1002/pol.20250943 |
| Availability: |
https://research.tue.nl/en/publications/b3eca113-4841-4518-8dcb-b9fd7ee0aaf1; https://doi.org/10.1002/pol.20250943; https://pure.tue.nl/ws/files/379864398/Journal_of_Polymer_Science_-_2025_-_Bellan_-_Controlling_the_Assembly_of_Ureido_Pyrimidinone_Supramolecular_Monomers_by.pdf; https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105022615362 |
| Rights: |
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess ; http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
| Accession Number: |
edsbas.2CF11BA9 |
| Database: |
BASE |