skip to main content
US FlagAn official website of the United States government
dot gov icon
Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
https lock icon
Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( lock ) or https:// means you've safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.


Title: Looking into a crystal ball: printing and patterning self-assembled peptide nanostructures
The solution processability of organic semiconductors and conjugated polymers along with the advent of nanomaterials as conducting inks have revolutionized next-generation flexible consumer electronics. Another equally important class of nanomaterials, self-assembled peptides, heralded as next-generation materials for bioelectronics, have a lot of potential in printed technology. In this minireview, we address the self-assembly process in dipeptides, their application in electronics, and recent progress in three-dimensional printing. The prospect of a generalizable path for nanopatterning self-assembled peptides using ice lithography and its challenges are further discussed.  more » « less
Award ID(s):
2034637
PAR ID:
10432136
Author(s) / Creator(s):
; ;
Date Published:
Journal Name:
Nanoscale
Volume:
14
Issue:
42
ISSN:
2040-3364
Page Range / eLocation ID:
15607 to 15616
Format(s):
Medium: X
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
More Like this
  1. Abstract Self‐assembled peptide materials have emerged as promising bioinspired tools for applications that include regenerative medicine, drug delivery, antimicrobial and vaccine development, optics, and catalysis. Peptide self‐assembly mediated by noncovalent hydrogen bonding, coulombic, hydrophobic, and aromatic interactions gives rise to a variety of supramolecular structures that reflect on the nature of the constituent peptides. The emergent properties of these supramolecular peptide materials often depend on the multivalent presentation of functional appendages on the self‐assembled scaffold. For example, the multivalent display of cell‐signaling motifs on self‐assembled peptide nanofibrils provides materials that are excellent extracellular matrix mimetics for tissue engineering applications. This review includes a discussion of chemical strategies that address the challenge of appending functional signal motifs in a multivalent display on self‐assembled peptide and protein materials. In addition, recent examples of supramolecular peptide materials that rely on the multivalent display of chemical signals for the desired applications are presented. Collectively, this discussion illustrates the potential of self‐assembled peptides as sustainable materials to address challenges in contemporary materials science and provides principles for the design of next‐generation agents for a variety of applications. 
    more » « less
  2. A need to enhance the precision and specificity of therapeutic nanocarriers inspires the development of advanced nanomaterials capable of sensing and responding to disease-related cues. Self-assembled peptides offer a promising nanocarrier platform with versatile use to create precisely defined nanoscale materials. Disease-relevant cues can range from large biomolecules, such as enzymes, to ubiquitous small molecules with varying concentrations in healthy versus diseased states. Notably, pH changes (i.e., H+ concentration), redox species (e.g., H2O2), and glucose levels are significant spatial and/or temporal indicators of therapeutic needs. Self-assembled peptides respond to these cues by altering their solubility, modulating electrostatic interactions, or facilitating chemical transformations through dynamic or labile bonds. This review explores the design and construction of therapeutic nanocarriers using self-assembled peptides, focusing on how peptide sequence engineering and the inclusion of non-peptidic components can link the assembly state of these nanocarriers to the presence of disease-relevant small molecules. 
    more » « less
  3. Abstract Nanomaterial‐based stretchable electronics composed of conductive nanomaterials in elastomer can seamlessly integrate with human skin to imperceptibly capture electrophysiological signals. Despite the use of transfer printing to form embedded structures, it remains challenging to facilely and stably integrate conductive nanomaterials with thin, low‐modulus, adhesive elastomers. Here, a facile‐yet‐simple laser‐induced graphene (LIG)‐assisted patterning and transfer method is demonstrated to integrate patterned silver nanowires onto an ultra‐low modulus silicone adhesive as ultra‐conformal epidermal electrodes. The resulting thin epidermal electrodes of ≈50 µm exhibit a low sheet resistance (0.781 Ω sq−1), tissue‐like Young's modulus (0.53 MPa), strong self‐adhesion, and excellent breathability. The breathable electrodes dynamically conformed to the skin with low contact impedance allow for long‐term, high‐fidelity monitoring of electrophysiological signals in complex environments (even during exercise and heavy sweating). Moreover, the LIG‐assisted transfer can provide a robust interface to establish a stable connection between the soft electrodes and rigid hardware. The large‐scale fabrication further provides an eight‐channel electromyography system combined with a deep learning algorithm for gesture classification and recognition with remarkable accuracy (95.4%). The results from this study also provide design guidelines and fabrication methods of the next‐generation epidermal electronics for long‐term dynamic health monitoring, prosthetic control, and human‐robot collaborations. 
    more » « less
  4. Organic electronics offer a route toward electronically active biocompatible soft materials capable of interfacing with biological and living systems. One class of promising organic electronic materials are π-conjugated peptides, synthetic molecules comprising an aromatic core flanked by oligopeptides, that can be engineered to self-assemble into elongated nanostructures with emergent optoelectronic functionality. In this work, we combine molecular dynamics simulations with electronic structure and charge transport calculations to computationally screen for high charge mobility π-conjugated peptides and to elucidate design rules linking aromatic core character with charge mobility. We consider within our screening library variations in the aromatic core chemistry and length of the alkyl chains connecting the oligopeptide wings to the core. After completing our computational screen we identify particular π-conjugated peptides capable of producing self-assembled biocompatible nanoaggregates with predicted hole mobilities of 0.224 cm^2/(Vs) and electron mobilities of 0.143 cm^2/(Vs), and uncover design rules that enhance understanding of the molecular determinants of charge mobility within π-conjugated peptide assemblies. 
    more » « less
  5. Abstract Interfacial self‐assembly describes the directed organization of molecules and colloids at phase boundaries. Believed to be fundamental to the inception of primordial life, interfacial assembly is exploited by a myriad of eukaryotic and prokaryotic organisms to execute physiologic activities and maintain homeostasis. Inspired by these natural systems, chemists, engineers, and materials scientists have sought to harness the thermodynamic equilibria at phase boundaries to create multi‐dimensional, highly ordered, and functional nanomaterials. Recent advances in our understanding of the biophysical principles guiding molecular assembly at gas–solid, gas–liquid, solid–liquid, and liquid–liquid interphases have enhanced the rational design of functional bio‐nanomaterials, particularly in the fields of biosensing, bioimaging and biotherapy. Continued development of non‐canonical building blocks, paired with deeper mechanistic insights into interphase self‐assembly, holds promise to yield next generation interfacial bio‐nanomaterials with unique, and perhaps yet unrealized, properties. This article is categorized under:Nanotechnology Approaches to Biology > Nanoscale Systems in BiologyTherapeutic Approaches and Drug Discovery > Emerging Technologies 
    more » « less