Self-Assembling Nanopeptides Become a New Type of Biomaterial

Combining physics, engineering, chemistry and biology, we can now design, synthesize and fabricate biological nano-materials at the molecular scale using self-assembling peptide systems. These peptides have been used for fabrication of nanomaterials including nanofibers, nanotubes and vesicles, nanometer-thick surface coating and nanowires. Some of these peptides are used for stabilizing membrane proteins, and others provide a more permissive environment for cell growth, repair of tissues in regenerative medicine, and delivering genes and drugs. Self-assembling peptides are also useful for fabricating a wide spectrum of exquisitely fine architectures, new materials and nanodevices for nanobiotechnology and a variety of engineering. These systems lie at the interface between molecular biology, chemistry, materials science and engineering. Molecular self-assembly will harness nature's enormous power to benefit other disciplines and society.