Peptides as novel smart materials

Important challenges in biomaterials design include predicting the formation of large-scale self-assembled structures based on local atomic-level interactions and then endowing such structures with the ability to respond sensitively to environmental cues. This responsiveness is referred to as smartness. With the advent of key technological advances in imaging, peptides have recently begun to be exploited for their potential use as biomaterials, such as filaments and fibrils, hydrogels, surfactants and peptide hybrids. Peptides offer attractive features, principally because of our detailed understanding of their ability to fold into specific structures, and the rich chemistry with which their structure and function can be manipulated for environmental response.