Aromatic short peptide architectonics: Assembly and engineering

Since the report of diphenylalanine (FF) peptide self-assembly into discrete nanostructures in 2003, aromatic short peptide architectonics have been extensively studied globally and exhibiting tremendous application potentials in diverse fields. In this occasion of the 20th anniversary of the FF self-assembly nanotechnology, the key achievements in the development of bioinspired supramolecular peptide technology are comprehensively reviewed. In particular, we discuss self-organization of aromatic short peptides into low-dimensional dots moving on to ripening to diverse architectures and microfabrication into large-scale, highly-ordered arrays. Consequent optical, mechanical, electrical, catalytic and biomedical characteristics of these supramolecular architectures are also discussed. Challenges in aromatic short peptide architectonics are assessed and several perspectives for future exploitation are proposed.