Emergent properties of supramolecular peptide assemblies

Abstract

The self-assembly of supramolecular monomers can change their chemical properties and produce emergent functions that are absent in their dispersed state. In this review article, we describe structural and functional material properties emerging from the self-assembly of peptides, which are based on interactions between neighbouring monomers and the supramolecular environments they create. The non-covalent cooperativity of peptides is here discussed in terms of emergent properties like catalysis, chiral amplification, hierarchical self-assembly and life-like function. These collective effects are rationalised by the monomer packing structure and reactive group proximity, providing a perspective of self-assembling peptide designs and supramolecular material applications, including our own contribution to this topic.