Optoelectronically-active peptide materials towards biointerfacing

Abstract

The applications of functional nanomaterials towards biological interfacing continue to emerge in various fields, such as in drug delivery and tissue engineering. While the rational control of surface chemistry and mechanical properties have been achieved for several of these biocompatible systems, these biomaterials are rarely synthesized with optical and electronic functionalities that could be beneficial for controlling the behavior of excitable cells for biosensing applications. In this talk, the development of self-assembling peptide materials appended with organic electronic units will be discussed. These materials can facilitate photoinduced energy transfer under aqueous environments. Semiconducting peptide monomers that can self-assemble as aligned hydrogels are successfully built according to design principles that allowed for directed photonic energy transport, sequential electron transport in a multicomponent system, and transmission or equilibration of voltage or current when incorporated in a transistor device. These soft scaffolding materials, with tunable molecular to macroscale properties, offer a unique tissue engineering platform that can locally and synergistically deliver electronic, topographical, and biochemical cues to cells. This presentation will also discuss the future applications of optoelectronically-active peptide assemblies as tools for controlling cellular processes and probing biophysical phenomena, such as action potential propagation, mechanotransduction, and drug/toxicant permeation across tissues.