Self-assembly and application of diphenylalanine-based nanostructures

Micro- and nanostructures fabricated from biological building blocks have attracted tremendous attention owing to their potential for application in biology and in nanotechnology. Many biomolecules, including peptides and proteins, can interact and self-assemble into highly ordered supramolecular architectures with functionality. By imitating the processes where biological peptides or proteins are assembled in nature, one can delicately design and synthesize various peptide building blocks composed of several to dozens of amino acids for the creation of biomimetic or bioinspired nanostructured materials. This tutorial review aims to introduce a new kind of peptide building block, the diphenylalanine motif, extracted with inspiration of a pathogenic process towards molecular self-assembly. We highlight recent and current advances in fabrication and application of diphenylalanine-based peptide nanomaterials. We also highlight the preparation of such peptide-based nanostructures as nanotubes, spherical vesicles, nanofibrils, nanowires and hybrids through self-assembly, the improvement of their properties and the extension of their applications.