Peptides Materials Science

P eptides are playing an increasing role in the development of novel materials, for example, in the fabrication of peptide-based hydrogels, coatings, and particles. Recent workshops and symposia, such as the Colloid & Surface Chemistry symposium on “molecular engineering of peptide assembly” at the 2015 Spring ACS meeting, are testament to the importance of peptides in materials science. This particular symposium, organized by Honggang Cui and Matthew Tirrell, featured an excellent collection of chemists, biophysicists, and engineers from around the world highlighting the folding, assembly pathways, structure and function of peptides, and the materials they form. In this issue of Biopolymers Peptide Science, Gregg Fields, Atlantic Florida University, presents his recent work of nanodiamond-peptide conjugates. The synthesis, as well as the, physical and biological properties of these nanoparticles is described. Nanodiamonds are currently being explored for their potential as drug delivery devices. These particles are small, on the order of a few nanometers in diameter, and are cytoand biocompatible. For biomedical applications, nanodiamonds can be functionalized with biomolecules. However, functionalization is usually accomplished by nonspecific adsorption. In his report herein, Fields describes synthetic methodology that allows the covalent attachment of peptides to nanodiamonds by solid-phase conjugation. He goes on to demonstrate that the functionalized particles can enhance cell adhesion and viability. The cover of this month’s issue sports a model of one of Gregg’s peptide-functionalized nanodiamonds—check it out! I do hope you enjoy this article as well as the other excellent contributions in this issue.