Functional oligo- and polypeptide assemblies for photochemical, optical and electronic applications

Area of Science:

• Biomaterials Science
• Supramolecular Chemistry
• Nanotechnology

Background:

• Peptides serve as versatile scaffolds for organizing functional molecular groups due to their primary and secondary structures.
• Self-assembly of peptides, driven by side-chain functional groups, enables the creation of sophisticated peptide-based materials.
• Natural proteins like silk fibroin also exhibit self-assembly into structures with optical and electronic applications.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review the design strategies and applications of self-assembled functional peptides.
• To highlight the synthesis of peptide-based materials with sequenced side chains and their inherent properties.
• To explore the utilization of self-assembled natural proteins for advanced optical and electronic devices.

Main Methods:

• Design and synthesis of peptide-based materials with sequenced polar moieties, organic dyes, and metal complexes.
• Hybridization of peptides with electro- and photoactive graphene oxide and metal nanoparticles for catalytic reactions.
• Characterization of self-assembled natural proteins (silk fibroin) for optical resonator and waveguide applications.

Main Results:

• Synthetic oligopeptides demonstrated photoinduced charge separation, electrochemical redox activities, and bio-sequence responsiveness.
• Peptide-based materials facilitated catalytic and photocatalytic oxidation-reduction and hydrogen evolution reactions.
• Silk fibroin microspheres were suitable for optical resonators sensing humidity, and dragline silk fibers acted as optical waveguides for logic operations.

Conclusions:

• Self-assembled functional peptides and natural proteins offer promising platforms for developing advanced materials.
• These materials exhibit tunable properties for applications in catalysis, optics, and electronics.
• The integration of peptide design principles with natural protein structures opens new avenues in materials science.