Peptide-Based Supramolecular Assemblies: Structure, Function, and Future Perspectives

Supramolecular peptide nanostructures have witnessed an explosion of interest due to their multiple applications in biomedicine (including tissue engineering, vaccine adjuvants, drug-delivery, antimicrobials, and wound-healing materials), but also in catalysis, sensing, environmental remediation, optoelectronics, and bioelectronics.

Specific peptide sequences self-assemble into well-ordered supramolecular hierarchical nanostructures as a response to diverse stimuli. Noncovalent interactions control the self-assembly process and give rise to many supramolecular nanostructures and materials, such as nanofibers and nanovesicles, but also gels or coacervates. Peptides offer biocompatibility, biodegradability, and ease of synthesis and can be combined with other functional moieties or nanostructures to give hybrid and nanocomposite materials.

Most self-assembling peptides reported in the literature have been inspired by nature or have been discovered by chance. Solvent, temperature, pH, or enzymes are only a few of the environmental conditions that may trigger the self-assembling process and, together with the primary peptide sequence, determine the morphology of the peptide nanostructure. The morphology of the peptide nanostructure has in turn a tremendous impact on the properties and functions of the material. Thus, tailoring all the variables is a difficult task and indeed, despite the many advances made and the entry of computational methods, the design of the self-assembling peptides, control of the self-assembling process, and understanding of structure-property relationships, are still challenging.

We welcome Original Research, Review, Mini Review and Perspective articles. Topics include, but are not limited to:

● Synthetic methods and purification of self-assembling peptides

● Self-assembly of peptides, peptide hybrids, peptide nanocomposites, and co-assembly

● Computational design of self-assembled peptides

● Stimuli-responsive peptide-based supramolecular materials

● Applications of self-assembled peptide nanostructures in biomedicine, bioelectronics, environmental applications, catalysis, sensing and optoelectronics

● Experimental/computational studies towards the understanding of the self-assembly mechanism and structure-property relationship.

Article types and fees

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• Mini Review
• Original Research
• Perspective
• Review

Articles that are accepted for publication by our external editors following rigorous peer review incur a publishing fee charged to Authors, institutions, or funders.

Article types

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• Mini Review
• Original Research
• Perspective
• Review

Keywords: peptide, self-assembly, nanostructure, supramolecular, gel, hydrogel, biomaterials, soft-materials, biomedicine

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.