Molecular engineering of piezoelectricity in collagen-mimicking peptide assemblies

Santu Bera, Sarah Guerin, Hui Yuan, Joseph O’Donnell, Nicholas P. Reynolds, Oguzhan Maraba, Wei Ji, Linda J. W. Shimon, Pierre-Andre Cazade, Syed A. M. Tofail, Damien Thompson (), Rusen Yang () and Ehud Gazit ()
Additional contact information
Santu Bera: Tel Aviv University
Sarah Guerin: University of Limerick
Hui Yuan: Xidian University
Joseph O’Donnell: University of Limerick
Nicholas P. Reynolds: Swinburne University of Technology
Oguzhan Maraba: University of Limerick
Wei Ji: Tel Aviv University
Linda J. W. Shimon: Weizmann Institute of Science
Pierre-Andre Cazade: University of Limerick
Syed A. M. Tofail: University of Limerick
Damien Thompson: University of Limerick
Rusen Yang: Xidian University
Ehud Gazit: Tel Aviv University

Nature Communications, 2021, vol. 12, issue 1, 1-12

Abstract: Abstract Realization of a self-assembled, nontoxic and eco-friendly piezoelectric device with high-performance, sensitivity and reliability is highly desirable to complement conventional inorganic and polymer based materials. Hierarchically organized natural materials such as collagen have long been posited to exhibit electromechanical properties that could potentially be amplified via molecular engineering to produce technologically relevant piezoelectricity. Here, by using a simple, minimalistic, building block of collagen, we fabricate a peptide-based piezoelectric generator utilising a radically different helical arrangement of Phe-Phe-derived peptide, Pro-Phe-Phe and Hyp-Phe-Phe, based only on proteinogenic amino acids. The simple addition of a hydroxyl group increases the expected piezoelectric response by an order of magnitude (d35 = 27 pm V−1). The value is highest predicted to date in short natural peptides. We demonstrate tripeptide-based power generator that produces stable max current >50 nA and potential >1.2 V. Our results provide a promising device demonstration of computationally-guided molecular engineering of piezoelectricity in peptide nanotechnology.

Date: 2021
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-22895-6

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