Supramolecular Assembly of Peptide Amphiphiles

Peptide amphiphiles (PAs) are small molecules that contain hydrophobic components covalently conjugated to peptides. In this Account, we describe recent advances involving PAs that consist of a short peptide sequence linked to an aliphatic tail. The peptide sequence can be designed to form β-sheets among the amino acids near the alkyl tail, while the residues farthest from the tail are charged to promote solubility and in some cases contain a bioactive sequence. In water, β-sheet formation and hydrophobic collapse of the aliphatic tails induce assembly of the molecules into supramolecular one-dimensional nanostructures, commonly high-aspect-ratio cylindrical or ribbonlike nanofibers. These nanostructures hold…

• UD
  U.S. Department of Energy

  Awards: DE-FG02-00ER45810, DE-SC0000989
• NH
  National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute

  Awards: 5R01HL116577?02, P01HL108795?04
• NC
  National Cancer Institute

  Award: F5U54CA151880?05
• NI
  National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering

  Award: 5R01EB003806?09
• NI
  National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research

  Award: 5R01DE015920?9
• DO
  Division of Materials Research

  Award: DMR-1508731