Designed peptides as model self assembling systems their characterization and potential biomedical applications

Abstract

Self-assembly as a phenomenon has always been an area of scientific interest It is broadly newlinedefined as the autonomous organization of components into patterns or structures. The newlinecomponents of a cell replicate and assemble into another cell during mitosis which newlineinvolves many type of self-assembly. A hierarchy of self-assembling processes is thus newlinefundamental to the operation of cell. Structures in self-assembly are organized into higher newlinelevels of order and stabilized through many different kinds of interactions. The design of newlinecomponents that organize themselves into desired patterns and functions is the key to newlineapplications of self-assembly. Molecular self-assembly, which is defined as the newlinespontaneous organization of molecules under thermodynamic equilibrium into well newlinedefined structural arrangements, is a very powerful strategy to fabricate supramolecular newlinearchitectures. newlineThe synthesis of novel materials via molecular self-assembly allows one to define newlineproperties of the material by rational design of the individual constituent molecules. newlineCharacteristics such as chemical functionality, material morphology, mechanical, newlineproperties, and stimulus responsiveness can thus be tailored at the molecular level. newlineComplementarities in shape and numerous weak non-covalent interactions stabilize a selfassembled newlinestructure. The challenge however lies in the rational design of simple newlinemolecular building blocks that can undergo self-assembly by utilizing multitude of noncovalent newlineforces like hydrogen bonding, ionic, hydrophobic and aromatic interactions along newlinewith weak Van der Waals forces. newlineUsing natural processes as guide and self-assembly as a phenomenon, tremendous newlineadvances has been achieved at the interface of nanomaterials and biology, such as newlinefabrication of nanofibres for three dimensional cell culture and tissue engineering, the newlineassembly of peptide and protein nanotubes and nanoribbons, synthesis of metal nanowires newlineon DNA templates and the assembly of electronic materials by bacterial phage selection. newlineThe unique characteristics