Peptide Designs for On-Demand Multifunctional Surface Functionalization

The development of high-performance devices demands tailoring the properties of surfaces and interfaces of materials. The control of surface properties can be achieved by attaching organic monolayers to the surface. In this talk, I will discuss the design of peptide-based functionalization layers and show that such functionalization layers exploit unique properties of proteins including diversity, modularity, and multi-functionality. Hence, open the way to design highly tunable and smart surfaces.<br/>In the first part of the talk, I will demonstrate <i>the use of surface binding peptides (SPBs) to tailor the electronic properties of surfaces. The effect of peptide side chains and their backbone connectivity and folding state on the resulting electronic properties will be discussed. I will further show that SPBs can be used to template syntheses of thin films with specifically tailored surface properties in an environmentally friendly approach. The use of such films for volatile organic compound sensing will be demonstrated.</i><br/><i>The utilization of the unique properties of peptides for the development of programmable surfaces will be demonstrated in the second part of the talk. I will present the design of a coiled-coil peptide system in which folding and chemical reactivity is responsive to external stimuli. The responsivity of the system facilitates the ability to control the binding of the peptides to the surface and/ or their folding state, which affects the surface's physico-chemical properties in a reversible manner. These smart dynamic surfaces enable the realization chemically induced computation elements using the surface properties as the readout. The feasibility of applying this approach in biosensing will be demonstrated. </i><br/>Overall, our work provides a sophisticated surface engineering approach, based on peptide sequence design, which can be utilized in diverse electronics, biotechnology, and medical applications.