Three-Dimensional Printing of Dipeptides with Spatioselective Programming of Crystallinity for Multilevel Anticounterfeiting

• Published in: Nano letters 2022-10, Vol.22 (19), p.7776-7783
• Main Authors: Yang, Jihyuk, Huan, Xiao, Liu, Yu, Lee, Heekwon, Chen, Mojun, Hu, Shiqi, Cao, Sixi, Kim, Ji Tae
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 1530-6984; 1530-6992
• DOI: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.2c01761

The functionalities of peptide microstructures and nanostructures can be enhanced by controlling their crystallinity. Gaining control over the crystallinity within the desired structure, however, remains a challenge. We have developed a three-dimensional (3D) printing method that enables spatioselective programming of the crystallinity of diphenylalanine (FF) dipeptide microarchitectures. A femtoliter ink meniscus is used to spatially control reprecipitation self-assembly, enabling the printing of a freestanding FF microstructure with programmed shape and crystallinity. The self-assembly crystallization of FF can be switched on and off at will by controlling the evaporation of the binary solvent. The evaporation-dependent crystallization was theoretically studied by the numerical simulation of supersaturation fields in the meniscus. We found that a 3D-printed FF microarchitecture with spatially programmed crystallinity can carry a 3D digital optical anisotropy pattern, applicable to generating polarization-encoded anticounterfeiting labels. This crystallinity-controlled additive manufacturing will pave the new way for facilitating the creation of peptide-based devices.