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Photoresponsive Supramolecular Hydrogel Co-assembled from Fmoc-Phe-OH and 4,4′-Azopyridine for Controllable Dye Release

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Abstract

Photoresponsive hydrogels have been attractive because they can provide precise spatial and temporal control for molecule release, whereas the conventional preparation of photoresponsive hydrogels generally involves complex chemical synthesis steps or specific conditions which limits their practical applications. Herein, a new photoresponsive hydrogel is facilely prepared via co-assembly of two simple molecules, Fmoc-Phe-OH and Azp, without chemical synthesis. The co-assembly mechanism, morphology, and photoresponsiveness of (Fmoc-Phe-OH)-Azp hydrogel are investigated by circular dichroism (CD), ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis), fluorescence, 1H nuclear magnetic resonance (1H-NMR), attenuated total internal reflection Fourier transform Infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Furthermore, the enhanced release of encapsulated sulforhodamine B (SRB) dye molecules can be achieved via UV light irradiation. The enhanced dye release amount can be controlled by manipulating photoirradiation time. This study provides a facile way to prepare photoresponsive hydrogel which holds great potential for controllable drug release.

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Acknowledgments

This work was financially supported by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation (postdoc stipend to X. Q. Dou), the European Research Council (No. 279202), and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 51833006 and 51573092). We thank Dipl.-Ing. Gregor Schulte for his technical support, as well as Prof. Dr. Ulrich Jonas, Dipl.-Labchem. Petra Frank (Macromolecular Chemistry, Department Chemistry–Biology, University of Siegen), who kindly granted access to ATR-FTIR measurement, and Prof. Dr. Heiko Ihmels (Organic Chemistry II, University of Siegen) who kindly provided access to the CD measurement.

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  1. These authors contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Physical Chemistry I and Research Center of Micro and Nanochemistry and Engineering (Cμ), Department of Chemistry and Biology, University of Siegen, Siegen, 57076, Germany

    Xiao-Qiu Dou, Ping Li & Holger Schönherr

  2. State Key Lab of Metal Matrix Composites, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, China

    Xiao-Qiu Dou, Chang-Li Zhao, Nabila Mehwish & Chuan-Liang Feng

Authors
  1. Xiao-Qiu Dou
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  2. Chang-Li Zhao
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  3. Nabila Mehwish
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  4. Ping Li
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  5. Chuan-Liang Feng
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  6. Holger Schönherr
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Correspondence to Chuan-Liang Feng or Holger Schönherr.

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Dou, XQ., Zhao, CL., Mehwish, N. et al. Photoresponsive Supramolecular Hydrogel Co-assembled from Fmoc-Phe-OH and 4,4′-Azopyridine for Controllable Dye Release. Chin J Polym Sci 37, 437–443 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10118-019-2223-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10118-019-2223-2

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