Construction of spatially organized, peptide/peptide derivative containing nanocomposites

Abstract

The functioning of naturally occurring materials and organisms emerges from the synergistic actions of all involved functional subunits following well-defined spatial hierarchies. Resembling the exquisite structure of biological machinery, the hierarchical organization of synthetic materials over a continuum of length scales and complexity dictates their functional competence. To replicate the structure–function relationships of natural origin materials, peptide-based building blocks capable of spontaneous association have been exploited to construct nanocomposites inherent with precise spatial order and biocompatibility. Moreover, the evolving functionalities of synthetic materials necessitate higher-order chemical diversity and structural complexity, accordingly, additional components have been coupled with peptidic nanoassemblies to achieve hierarchical multicomponent nanocomposites. This review starts with a brief introduction of kinetic and thermodynamic principles of supramolecular polymerization and these principles largely direct the construction of nanostructures containing amphiphilic peptides or peptide derivatives as well. Taking the synergism of kinetic factors and thermodynamic preferences as a guide, we critically review various strategies to construct spatially organized, multicomponent nanocomposites. All these strategies similarly involve amphiphilic building blocks consisting of assembling peptide domains that contribute to the generation of supramolecular frameworks allowing the incorporation of functional chromophores/constituents with nanoscale precision. Nanocomposites integrated with multiple components give access to greater structural tunability and complexity to perform complex tasks, thereby exerting usage in biomedical formulations and energy harvesting and conversion.