Self-assembling peptides and proteins for nanotechnological applications

Photolithography enables the precise construction of nanodevices in two-dimensional formats. However, self-assembly of designed molecules serves as an alternative for the construction of three-dimensional nanoscale systems and is particularly appealing in that material properties can potentially be engineered at the molecular level. Peptides and proteins hold promise as building blocks for self-assembled systems because of their exquisite three-dimensional structures and evolutionarily fine-tuned functions.