Intermolecular Interactions and Self-Assembly of Peptide-Based Nanomaterials Against Human Pathogenic Bacteria

Nanomaterial systems composed of polypeptides are inherently hierarchical in their organization: non-covalent interactions displayed by peptide building blocks engender well-ordered structures with broad applications. This chapter is intended to reflect on the recent progress made in the development of functionalized peptide self-assembling nanomaterials and their therapeutic applications against pathogenic bacteria. We review recent efforts directed to the creation of structurally defined supramolecular assemblies derived from either peptides or synthetic oligomers mimicking the folding and organization of polypeptides. We elucidate the roles of non-covalent interactions, which are encoded by peptide primary amino acid sequence, on the folding and self-assembly of peptides, which in turn gives rise to biological function (e.g., antibacterial activity). Overall, the capability to build peptide-based nanomaterials and tune their functional properties presents exciting opportunities for future research and applications.