Molecularly tuned peptide assemblies at the liquid-solid interface studied by scanning tunneling microscopy

We report here the modulation of a peptide assembly with a molecular template at the liquid-solid interface using scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). A lamella structure is observed for the assembly of pentapeptide 5Ala, and the introduction of the terpyridine derivative (BT-O-C16) gives rise to co-assembled molecular architectures with pentapeptide monomers and dimers encapsulated in the nanoscale cavities of the BT-O-C16 network. The selectivity of the molecular networks could allow for programmable construction of organic-peptide architectures.