Peptides as new smart bionanomaterials: molecular-recognition and self-assembly capabilities

Biomolecules express exquisite properties that are required for molecular recognition and self-assembly on the nanoscale. These smart capabilities have developed through evolution and such biomolecules operate based on smart functions in natural systems. Recently, these remarkable smart capabilities have been utilized in not only biologically related fields, but also in materials science and engineering. A peptide-screening technology that uses phage-display systems has been developed based on this natural smart evolution for the generation of new functional peptide bionanomaterials. We focused on peptides that specifically bound to synthetic polymers. These polymer-binding peptides were screened by using a phage-display peptide library to recognize nanostructures that were derived from polymeric structural features and were utilized for possible applications as new bionanomaterials. We also focused on self-assembling peptides with β-sheet structures that formed nanoscale, fibrous structures for applications in new bottom-up nanomaterials. Moreover, nanofiber-binding peptides were also screened to introduce the desired functionalities into nanofibers without the need for additional molecular design. Our approach to construct new bionanomaterials that employ peptides will open up excellent opportunities for the next generation of materials science and technology.