Photodegradable glyco-microfibers fabricated by the self-assembly of cellobiose derivatives bearing nitrobenzyl groups

Stimuli-responsive materials constructed via the self-assembly of small biomolecules are attracting increasing attention because of their biocompatibility, sustainability, and variety of (bio)applications. Nevertheless, the research on oligosaccharide-based molecular designs for such stimuli-responsive materials (or stimuli-responsive glyco-materials) is limited, partly due to the intrinsic structural diversity of oligosaccharides and the difficulty associated with their selective chemical syntheses. Herein, we report the construction of photodegradable glyco-microfibers by the self-assembly of cellobiose derivatives bearing nitrobenzyl groups. The atomic-scale, self-assembled architecture of the photodegradable glyco-microfibers is unveiled and compared with those of pristine cellobiose and cellulose polymorphs in previous reports.