Fig. 5: Size control, shape control and reversibility.
From: Adaptive peptide dispersions enable drying-induced biomolecule encapsulation
a,b, Temperature dictates the size distribution of the dried peptide particles. KWY shows a reduction in particle size and more homogeneous size distribution as temperature increases during evaporation. Scale bar, 10 µm. A total of 368–1,456 particles at each temperature were analysed. c, The 20 mM WKY peptide was dissolved in Na/PB at concentrations of 25, 50, 100, 250, 500 and 1,000 mM. A bright-field image of dried WKY in 500 mM PB is shown. Scale bar, 50 µm. d, Plot of 296–662 Imaris-3D-rendered particles at each concentration demonstrates the reduction in particle size and increase in homogeneity with the increase of salt concentration. e–g, The peptide solution was degassed, followed by the evaporation assay; the example of WKY is shown (e). Imaris 3D rendering demonstrated a reduction in particle size and increase in sphericity, as plotted in f and g, respectively. Scale bar, 5 µm. h, Fully reversible formation of porous peptide particles upon addition of water and re-evaporation. Representative time-lapse images of KWY are shown. Scale bar, 50 µm. The macroscopic images of 5 µl peptide solution drops at each stage are shown in the insets. Scale bar in the insert, 500 µm. In the violin plots, the horizontal lines show the median as well as the 25th and 75th percentiles.
