Review article
Applications and advancements of peptides in the design of metallic nanomaterials

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cogsc.2018.06.002Get rights and content

Metal and metal oxide nanomaterials have proven to be an integral part of daily life from their use in industrial catalysis, medical therapeutics, and miniaturized devices. While these materials are implemented to “green up” different applications, the fabrication approaches for these particles often require toxic reagents, harsh conditions, and leave behind a significant amount of waste. As a result, their synthesis can often be inefficient with respect to the environmental factor (E-Factor). By advancing the fundamental science of bio-hybrid materials, including peptide/metal and peptide/polymer systems, we can incorporate the principles of green chemistry into the material design and function by harnessing the natural capacity of the biomolecule in a biomimetic fashion. This brief Opinion highlights current research in hybrid peptides and peptide-mediated materials to show how improvements in understanding the complex interactions at the abiotic/biotic interface have the potential to revolutionize current material syntheses.

Introduction

Nanomaterials of various polymeric, metal, and metal oxide compositions have proven to be valuable in industrial catalysis 1, 2, medical therapeutics 3, 4, and miniaturized devices 5, 6. In the design of most materials, substantial consideration is given to the structure/function relationship with respect to how the nanomaterial will perform in its anticipated applications; however, advancements in material syntheses are needed to fabricate these transformative structures using green principles for long-term use. Conventional synthetic routes that show capabilities to control material composition, size, and morphology use resources such as toxic organic solvents, energy-consumptive high temperatures, and purification steps that generate substantial waste 7, 8. By adapting bio-mediated synthetic routes for material design, there is the potential to ameliorate the harsh and inefficient conditions typically employed 9, 10. As a direct comparison of a standard Au nanoparticle synthesis to a biomediated one, the estimated E-factor [11] of the Brust-Schiffrin synthesis [12] where 214 mg of product is made is ∼4208. Conversely, the estimated E-factor of an up scaled AuBP1 peptide-capped Au nanoparticles synthesis [13] to make 214 mg of product is ∼258. The order of magnitude difference in E-factors illustrate the advances in green nanomaterial synthesis that could be achieved using peptides. By embracing biomimetic approaches with continued research into the capabilities of peptide-mediated materials, there is the potential to implement green materials syntheses by elucidating how nature exploits ambient conditions in an atom-economical fashion to fabricate and manipulate material structures at enhanced levels as compared to conventional chemical and engineering methods.

A variety of biomolecules have been used to generate inorganic materials, where peptides have been of significant interest [10]. Peptides have molecular recognition capacities based on the composition and arrangement of the functional groups of the sequence. This recognition capability can be exploited for inorganic composition selective binding 9, 14 and controlled material assembly 15, 16. Recent research has provided a better understanding of the conditions under which materials can be structured, if not completely prepared, using only the peptide to drive inorganic material reduction, nucleation, growth, and passivation 17, 18. With more research and understanding of how a peptide can mediate particle production, advances in the fundamental science of material design using the principles of green chemistry could be substantially enhanced. This Opinion reviews advances in peptide and biomolecule mediated materials and metal nanoparticle syntheses, and includes a brief discussion of possible next steps in these approaches.

Section snippets

Hybrid peptide materials

Engineered hybrid peptide-based materials are species where organic molecules or polymers are coupled with a biomolecule like a protein or peptide. These engineered structures are robust examples of how rational design can enhance previously underutilized tools. In these systems, the inherent material recognition motifs found in the amino acid sequence of a peptide are coupled with the properties of the organic molecule, such as π-stacking or a molecular switch, to allow the hybrid to have both

Biomolecule templated materials

While peptide hybrid materials showed how the biomolecule modified with non-natural moieties can potentially enhance the functionality of a material; proteins 23, 33, peptides [23] and amino acids 34, 35 have tremendous material design capabilities without the need of a tethered non-natural unit. Understanding how these biomolecules can manipulate material morphology in the absence of more complex synthetic components (e.g. photoswitches and carbon chains) will hopefully lead to optimized green

Outlook

Current peptide hybrid material design focuses on how to manipulate intermolecular forces to produce a desired nanostructure [31], and how that structure can improve the function, properties, or output of the material. These philosophies promote the use of green chemical principles in both research and industrial applications, but further understanding of how the solution and synthesis conditions [32] alter the capability [43] of the biomolecule require further study. This is necessary to

Conclusion

Researchers have identified that point mutations, as well as the sequence of the residues in the peptide, play roles in manipulating the material surface and catalytic function, but more effort is required to understand how the peptide and solution conditions affect the synthetic process and ultimately the function of the material to achieve the goals of green chemistry. With more efforts focused on the fundamental science of how peptides interact with both metal ions and reduced surfaces of

Conflict of interest statement

Nothing declared.

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the University of Miami for continuing research support. C.J.M. acknowledges the University of Miami College of Arts & Sciences Dean's Summer Fellowship support.

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