Abstract Molecules self-assembly in confined space such as in cell to form microfilaments is a crucial process to achieve special functionality. Herein, short peptides with different sequences were taken as examples to explore their self-assembly behavior in AAO templates which offer different pore size and depth to mimic confined environment. Thermolysin, as a mild, selective and effective biological enzyme, is applied here to trigger the self-assembly of short peptides in the pores of AAO template. Experimental results indicate that the morphology, structure and orientation of short peptide fibers in the pores are significantly affected by pore size of AAO templates. Moreover, the formed short peptide fibers in pores show obvious influence on the cell morphology and spreading. The method proposed here gives a feasible avenue to reveal the effect of confined environment on self-assembly behavior of short peptide.

中文翻译：

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嗜热菌蛋白酶触发的短肽在密闭空间自组装及在细胞培养中的应用

摘要 分子在细胞等密闭空间中自组装形成微丝是实现特殊功能的关键过程。在此，以具有不同序列的短肽为例，探索它们在 AAO 模板中的自组装行为，该模板提供不同的孔径和深度以模拟密闭环境。嗜热菌蛋白酶作为一种温和的、选择性的、有效的生物酶，用于触发 AAO 模板孔中短肽的自组装。实验结果表明，AAO模板孔径对孔隙中短肽纤维的形态、结构和取向有显着影响。此外，孔内形成的短肽纤维对细胞形态和铺展有明显影响。