Self-assembled monolayers formed by conformationally constrained oligopeptides. A new tool for bioinspired nanotechnology

In this contribution we report on our recent studies on peptide-based self-assembled monolayers (SAMs). We show that helical oligopeptides formed by Ca-tetrasubstituted C-alpha-amino acids can form stable and densely-packed nanometric films on a gold surface. Three issues will be discussed: I) the morphology of peptide thiol SAMs on a gold surface, II) the electron transfer properties of peptide SAMs functionalized with electro- or photoactive probes, and III) the versatility of helical peptide building blocks in the engineering of complex nanostructures. These findings will pave the way for feasible applications in the fields of electrochemical sensing, molecular electronics, and bionanotechnology.