A recent article by the Lynn Group is featured on the cover of ChemSysChem. Graduate scholar Anthony Sementilli, one of the co-authors of the article, provided the following brief summary:
Amyloids are a common protein structural phase that accesses the morphology of fibers, nanoribbons, or nanotubes. In this publication, we report how a simple model peptide which initially forms via an intermediate disordered, globular aggregate via a liquid-liquid phase transition, pre-orders microcrystals for eventual maturation into nanofibrilar assembly. This discovery highlights the importance of biopolymer “two-step nucleation” in aqueous environments for pre-ordering phase transitions and enabling the cooperative transition to higher order assemblies.