Multifunctional Cellulose via Enzymatic Oxidation of Tripeptides
7 affiliations
- 1PhD Program in Chemistry, CUNY: The Graduate Center, 365 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY, 10016
- 2Chemistry, CUNY: Hunter College, 695 Park Avenue, New York, NY, 10065
- 3Nanoscience Initiative, CUNY: Advanced Science Research Center, 85 St Nicholas Terrace, New York, NY, United States, 10031
- 4Biomaterials and Interface Tissue Engineering Laboratory, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Columbia University: Biomedical Engineering, 1210 Amsterdam Ave, New York, NY, 10027
- 5Gotham Foundry, 1361 Amsterdam Avenue, New York, NY, 10027
- 6Columbia Nano Initiative, Columbia University, 530 W 120th St, New York, NY, 10027
- 7Science and Mathematics, Fashion Institute of Technology , 227 W 27th St, New York, NY, 10001
Abstract
Cellulose is a natural, abundant and versatile biopolymer that has long been used in traditional applications such as paper and textiles and has gained interest in advanced applications including energy storage, healthcare, food, cosmetics, and coatings. For these applications, achieving robust functionality in cellulose nanocomposites remains a challenge due to poor control over the uniform distribution of added components. Here, we explore enzyme-activated tripeptides as versatile interfacial modifiers for introducing distinct functions into microbial cellulose. First, we demonstrate peptide-mediated formation of melanin-inspired coating with strong light absorption and potential UV-protective properties. Second, we demonstrate incorporation of graphene to create semi-conducting biocomposites. Microbial cellulose was exposed to the tripeptides KYF or KYW in the presence of tyrosinase, promoting peptide oxidation, assembly, and retention within the cellulose network. Pigmented coatings displayed a clear sequence dependence, with KYW exhibiting substantially greater adsorption and uniformity compared to KYF, which is consistent with additional hydrogen-bonding interactions provided by the tryptophan indole side chain and favorable carbohydrate–aromatic interactions that enhance cellulose affinity. In contrast, graphene incorporation was comparable for both peptides, suggesting that graphene immobilization is governed primarily by the general self-assembly of aromatic peptides rather than sequence-specific cellulose binding. The resulting composites showed uniform graphene dispersion, confirmed by optical and electron microscopy and Raman spectroscopy, together with enhanced mechanical performance and electrical conductivity. These findings establish enzymatic peptide oxidation as a versatile strategy for introducing optical and electrical functionality into cellulose-based materials.
Related
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- Molecular Conformation as a Determinant of Self-Assembly in Sequence-Isomeric Tripeptides.
BibTeX
@misc{barriales2026multifunctional,
title = {{Multifunctional Cellulose via Enzymatic Oxidation of Tripeptides}},
author = {Kenny Barriales and Wasiq Mahmood and Yueh-Ting Chiu and Chloe Casanova and Helen H. Lu and Theanne N. Schiros and Rein V. Ulijn},
howpublished = {ChemRxiv},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.26434/chemrxiv.15010941/v1},
url = {https://chemrxiv.org/doi/full/10.26434/chemrxiv.15010941/v1},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Multifunctional Cellulose via Enzymatic Oxidation of Tripeptides
AU - Kenny Barriales
AU - Wasiq Mahmood
AU - Yueh-Ting Chiu
AU - Chloe Casanova
AU - Helen H. Lu
AU - Theanne N. Schiros
AU - Rein V. Ulijn
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/23
PB - ChemRxiv
DO - 10.26434/chemrxiv.15010941/v1
UR - https://chemrxiv.org/doi/full/10.26434/chemrxiv.15010941/v1
AB - Cellulose is a natural, abundant and versatile biopolymer that has long been used in traditional applications such as paper and textiles and has gained interest in advanced applications including energy storage, healthcare, food, cosmetics, and coatings. For these applications, achieving robust functionality in cellulose nanocomposites remains a challenge due to poor control over the uniform distribution of added components. Here, we explore enzyme-activated tripeptides as versatile interfacial modifiers for introducing distinct functions into microbial cellulose. First, we demonstrate peptide-mediated formation of melanin-inspired coating with strong light absorption and potential UV-protective properties. Second, we demonstrate incorporation of graphene to create semi-conducting biocomposites. Microbial cellulose was exposed to the tripeptides KYF or KYW in the presence of tyrosinase, promoting peptide oxidation, assembly, and retention within the cellulose network. Pigmented coatings displayed a clear sequence dependence, with KYW exhibiting substantially greater adsorption and uniformity compared to KYF, which is consistent with additional hydrogen-bonding interactions provided by the tryptophan indole side chain and favorable carbohydrate–aromatic interactions that enhance cellulose affinity. In contrast, graphene incorporation was comparable for both peptides, suggesting that graphene immobilization is governed primarily by the general self-assembly of aromatic peptides rather than sequence-specific cellulose binding. The resulting composites showed uniform graphene dispersion, confirmed by optical and electron microscopy and Raman spectroscopy, together with enhanced mechanical performance and electrical conductivity. These findings establish enzymatic peptide oxidation as a versatile strategy for introducing optical and electrical functionality into cellulose-based materials.
ER -