Short peptides and amino acids are promising building blocks for sustainable materials as they are non-toxic and biodegradable. In this lecture, I will present bio-inspired functional coatings that are spontaneously formed by extremely short peptides and commercially available amino acids. These coatings self-assemble on metals, oxides, and polymers under mild conditions without any need for a curing step and can serve many functions including self-cleaning and antifouling.[1] We specifically showed that extremely short peptides can self-assemble into a coating that prevents the first step of biofouling, which involves the adsorption of bioorganic molecules to the substrate.[2] The coating significantly reduces the attachment of various organisms, such as bacteria, viruses and fungi, to surfaces.[3, 4] Another function that these peptide-based coatings can mediate is the adhesion of mammalian cells to implants. This function is important for the integration of implants into the human body. Moreover, these peptides self-assemble in solution into particles that adsorb and release active compounds that synergistically reduce the number of bacteria, viruses and fungi.[5] They can also be integrated into polymeric films by a simple co-extrusion protocol to form active polymeric films.[6] Finally, we showed that an individual amino acid can self-assemble into a superhydrophobic coating that can provide surfaces with the ability to self-clean.[7]

References

[1] S. Maity, S. Nir, T. Zada, M. Reches; Chemical Communications, 2014, 50, 11154-11157.

[2] T. Duanis-Assaf, M. Reches; iScience, 2024, 27, 108803.

[3] T. Hu, O. Agazani, S. Nir, M. Cohen, S. Pan, M. Reches; ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, 2021, 13, 48469-48477.

[4] T. Hu, M. Kaganovich, Z. Shpilt, A. Pramanik, O. Agazani, S. Pan, E. Tshuva, M. Reches; Advanced Materials Interfaces, 2023, 10, 2202161.

[5] M. Kaganovich, M. Taha, U. Zig, E. Y. Tshuva, D. E. Shalev, A. Gamliel, M. Reches; Biomacromolecules, 2024, 25, 1018-1026.

[6] M. Kaganovich, K. Shlosman, E. Goldman, M. Benchis, T. Eitan, R. Shemesh, A. Gamliel, M. Reches; Chemical Communications, 2022, 58, 9357-9360.

[7] T. Hu, Z. Zhang, M. Reches; Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, 2024, 655, 899-908.