Molecular Biomimetics: Genetic Synthesis, Assembly, and Formation of Materials Using Peptides
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Biomimetics: Genetic Synthesis, Assembly, and Formation of Materials Using Peptides
Candan Tamerler and Mehmet Sarikaya, Guest Editors Abstract In nature, the molecular-recognition ability of peptides and, consequently, their functions are evolved through successive cycles of mutation and selection. Using biology as a guide, it is now possible to select, tailor, and control peptide–solid interactions and exploit them in novel ways. Combinatorial mutagenesis provides a protocol to genetically select short peptides with specific affinity to the surfaces of a variety of materials including metals, ceramics, and semiconductors. In the articles of this issue, we describe molecular characterization of inorganic-binding peptides; explain their further tailoring using post-selection genetic engineering and bioinformatics; and finally demonstrate their utility as molecular synthesizers, erectors, and assemblers. The peptides become fundamental building blocks of functional materials, each uniquely designed for an application in areas ranging from practical engineering to medicine.
Introduction Molecular biomimetics is an emerging key field in science and technology.1 Through the use of recombinant DNA methods, combinatorial approaches have been developed to select and tailor peptides with properties not present in nature. A peptide is two or more amino acids linked in a chain. Peptides have desirable inorganic-binding and assembly characteristics and can be used as molecular building blocks in practical applications.2–6 The peptides work either in isolation or when inserted within the structural framework
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of designer proteins (such as enzymes) that have useful characteristics. The central premise of this interdisciplinary field is that genetically engineered peptides for inorganics (GEPIs)1 can be utilized as molecular erector sets.2–6 With molecular biomimetics methods, peptides may direct synthesis, fabrication, assembly, and architecture of hybrid materials, creating materials with programmed composition, phase, and topology. Such materials could have designed and controlled functions at the molecular or nanometer scale. The pep-
tide fabrication and assembly processes take place under ambient and environmentally friendly conditions.1–11 Gaining the ability to closely manipulate the behavior of peptides to fully control materials formation would be a giant leap toward realizing nanometer-scale building blocks that tailor electronic, optical, mechanical, or magnetic materials properties.25 Molecular biology and genetics approaches could modify the polypeptides and their molecular-recognition characteristics,11–15 and traditional and state-of-the-art engineering approaches16 could create inorganic or synthetic structures such as nanoparticles,17–20 quantum dots,20 molecular wires21 or nanowires,22 or synthetic molecular systems23 (e.g., organic semiconductors).24 Proteins are long peptide chains that have diverse properties deriving from the specific amino-acid sequences and the physical chain architectures. The w
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