Peptide-based self-assembled nanostructures are assumed to serve as key building blocks for future (bio)nanotechnological applications. This is due to their spontaneous self-assembly and their ability to facilitate chemical and biological recognition processes. The diphenylalanine core recognition motif of the Alzheimer's β-amyloid polypeptide efficiently assembles into nanotubular structures of a remarkable persistence length in aqueous solution under mild conditions. Similar tubular structures were shown to be assembled by a larger heptapeptide fragment of β-amyloid that includes the diphenylalanine core. The novel class of nanotubes offers an attractive direction for the fabrication of biocompatible peptide-based nanostructures due to their remarkably simple structure that allow their chemical synthesis in large quantities and high yield. Moreover, the peptide tubes can serve as a degradable mold for the fabrication of silver nanowires or other metallic nanostructures (Reches and Gazit, unpublished results) and allow the formation of platinum-nanoparticle composites.
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