Cyclic peptide structures for molecular scale electronic and photonic devices

Abstract

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 α-carbon chirality of L and a second adjacent amino acid residue has an α-carbon chirality of D.