Biomimetic Ultralight, Highly Porous, Shape-Adjustable, and Biocompatible 3D Graphene Minerals via Incorporation of Self-Assembled Peptide Nanosheets

Hybrid nanomaterials with tailored functions, consisting of self-assembled peptides, are intensively applied in nanotechnology, tissue engineering, and biomedical applications due to their unique structures and properties. Herein, a peptide-mediated biomimetic strategy is adopted to create the multifunctional 3D graphene foam (GF)-based hybrid minerals. First, 2D peptide nanosheets (PNSs), obtained by self-assembling a motif-specific peptide molecule (LLVFGAKMLPHHGA), are expected to exhibit biofunctionality, such as the biomimetic mineralization of hydroxyapatite (HA) minerals. Subsequently, the noncovalent conjugation of PNSs onto GF support is utilized to form 3D GF-PNSs hybrid scaffolds, which are suitable for the growth of HA minerals. The fabricated biomimetic 3D GF-PNSs-HA minerals exhibit adjustable shape, superlow weight (0.017 g cm(-3)), high porosity (5.17 m(2) g(-1)), and excellent biocompatibility, proving potential applications in both bone tissue engineering and biomedical engineering. To the best of the authors' knowledge, it is the first time to combine 2D PNSs and GF to fabricate 3D organic-inorganic hybrid scaffold. Further development of these hybrid GF-PNSs scaffolds can potentially lead to materials used as matrices for drug delivery or bone tissue engineering as proven via successful 3D scaffold formation exhibiting interconnected pore-size structures suitable for vascularization and medium transport.