Exploring Helical Peptides and Foldamers for the Design of Metal Helix Frameworks: Current Trends and Future Perspectives

Flexible and biocompatible metal peptide frameworks (MPFs) derived from short and ultra-short peptides have been explored for the storage of greenhouse gases, molecular recognition, and chiral transformations. In addition to short flexible peptides, peptides with specifically folded conformations have recently been utilized to fabricate a variety of metal helix frameworks (MHFs). The secondary structures of the peptides govern the structure-assembly relationship and thereby control the formation of three-dimensional (3D)-MHFs. Particularly, the hierarchical structural organization of peptide-based MHFs has not yet been discussed in detail. Here, we describe the recent progress of metal-driven folded peptide assembly to construct 3D porous structures for use in future energy storage, chiral recognition, and biomedical applications, which could be envisioned as an alternative to the conventional metal-organic frameworks (MOFs).

Automated summary

Flexible and biocompatible metal peptide frameworks (MPFs) have been developed from short and ultra-short peptides for various applications such as greenhouse gas storage, molecular recognition, and chiral transformations. Recently, specifically folded peptides have been utilized to fabricate metal helix frameworks (MHFs) that control the formation of three-dimensional (3D)-MHFs. This article describes the recent progress of metal-driven folded peptide assembly for constructing 3D porous structures with potential applications in energy storage, chiral recognition, and biomedical fields, serving as an alternative to conventional metal-organic frameworks (MOFs).