Worcester Polytechnic Institute

William Grant McGimpsey

John C MacDonald

The present invention discloses a family of cyclic peptide monomers and supramolecular cyclic peptide structures comprising chromophore residues which possess electronic and electro-optic properties for producing molecular scale electronic and photonic devices made from such materials. More particularly, this invention provides for cyclic peptide nanotube structures formed from a plurality of stacked cyclic peptides comprising chromophore residues that provide molecular scale electronic conductivity and non linear optical behavior. The stackable cyclic peptide is represented by the general formulawhere Ris H, CHor alkyl; where at least one Ris a chromophore; where Ris H, CHor a polar or non-polar organic functional group used for controlling peptide stacking and solubility; where n equals 1 or 2; where m equals 4 or 6; and where a first adjacent amino acid residue has an &#x3b1;-carbon chirality of L and a second adjacent amino acid residue has an &#x3b1;-carbon chirality of D.

Cyclic peptide structures for molecular scale electronic and photonic devices

Self-assembled monolayers and multilayer thin film structures were assembled from multiple components that were linked non-covalently by metal-ligand complexation. Non-covalently assembled multicomponent films assembly my the present method obviate problems associated with the covalent assembly of SAMs and multilayer thin film structures from large molecules. In one preferred embodiment, the disclosed film structures comprise 2,6 pyridinedicarboxylate ligands attached to an alkanethiol, which form a self-assembled monolayer on gold. The SAM is subsequently functionalized by sequential deposition of metal ions and ligands, allowing incorporation of one or more chromophores, photooxiding compounds or photoreducing to form multilayer film structures. Transition metals, lanthanide metals and other metals of varying charge may be employed in complexing with with 2,6 pyridinedicarboxylate ligands to form stable ordered structures. The non-covalent assembly method provides for multilayer film formation from mixtures of metal ions and a varying number of film layers. Multilayer thin film structures exhibit stable cathodic photocurrent generation in the presence of methyl viologen or EDTA in solution.

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Boylston, MA, United States of America

William Grant McGimpsey