Toward the development of peptide nanofilaments and nanoropes as smart materials

D. E. Wagner
C. L. Phillips
W. M. Ali
Walter Fox Smith, Haverford College

Abstract

Peptide sequences designed to self-assemble into filaments are shown to form the predicted structures, based on ultracentrifuge, atomic force microscope, dynamic light scattering, and circular dichroism data. The design uses phased hydrophobic interactions to drive self assembly, circumventing problems seen in previous approaches that used electrostatics as a driving force. --author-supplied description