Fig. 6. Suggested model for the Fmoc-DOPA structural transition process.

(A) Schematic diagram showing a sol-gel-crystal transition that occurs at the macroscopic level, with an underlying morphological transition at the microscopic level. This process includes a morphological transition from spheres into fibers and twisted ribbons, and finally into helical ribbons and tubes. (B) Energy landscape of the Fmoc-DOPA transition process. This process involves the transition of metastable spheres into thermodynamically favorable crystalline ultrastructure.