Light-sensitive polyaminoacids as bio-inspired molecular materials

In this paper, we consider light-sensitive polyaminoacids and polypeptides, i.e. polyaminoacids and polypeptides modified by luminescent, photochromic and other fragments. Polyaminoacids are objects that mimic natural proteins and can change their conformation under different outer factors, which result in remarkable changes in the physical, chemical, and mechanical properties of macromolecules. Incorporation of various dyes, photochromic fragments and metal-containing compounds into polypeptides can lead to formation of unique supramolecular assemblies similar to biological systems and design of novel molecular materials with nanoscale function. (C) 2008 Published by Elsevier B.V.