Inspired by Nature's capacity to synthesize well‐defined inorganic nanostructures, such as the magnetite particles produced by magnetotactic bacteria, genetic algorithms are employed to... Show moreInspired by Nature's capacity to synthesize well‐defined inorganic nanostructures, such as the magnetite particles produced by magnetotactic bacteria, genetic algorithms are employed to combinatorially optimize the aqueous synthesis of magnetite (Fe3O4) nanoparticles through the action of copolypeptide additives. An automated dispensing system is used to prepare and rapidly screen hundreds of mineralization reactions with randomized conditions, varying ferrous iron, base, oxidant, and polypeptide chemistry. Optimization over multiple generations allows identification of conditions under which the copolypeptides promote magnetite formation where this does not occur in their absence. It is found that nanoparticle size, size distribution, and shape can be tuned by the concentrations and compositions of the copolypeptides, and that the reaction pH is the most important factor in controlling the crystalline phase. This approach should be broadly applicable to the syntheses of solid‐state materials and represents a valuable strategy for extending biomimetic mineralization to the production of technological materials. Show less
Nature__s own building block, peptide/protein derived materials have been of great interest for supramolecular chemists. The amino acids in peptides/proteins are linked via amide bonds, which makes... Show moreNature__s own building block, peptide/protein derived materials have been of great interest for supramolecular chemists. The amino acids in peptides/proteins are linked via amide bonds, which makes them more stable against degradation as compared to other natural materials such as oligonucleotides. Peptides adopt a secondary structure which is determined by their amino acid sequence resulting in a structure with a specific fold like a beta sheet, a helix or a random coil conformation.These secondary structures can govern the supra-molecular structure of the macromolecule to achieve specific function. Peptides can be short, such as dipeptides or as long as a small protein, which are able to selfassemble into a designed nanostructure and thus providing a wide choice of biomaterials for a chemical biologist. In last decade, peptides have been shown to have great versatility and inherent high affinity for their target to carry out various functions which is the scope of this thesis presented here. Show less
