Self- assembling nanotubes mimic protein formation

The nanotubes can be tuned to have a diameter of between five and 10nm, stacking together to form tubes up to 100nm long. According to the researchers they have many potential uses, including delivering cancer drugs into the cells of patients as well as for the desalination of seawater.

"Creating uniform structures in high yield is a goal in nanotechnology," said Ron Zuckermann, director of the Biological Nanostructures Facility in Berkeley Lab's Molecular Foundry.

"For example, if you can control the diameter of nanotubes, and the chemical groups exposed in their interior, then you can control what goes through, which could lead to new filtration and desalination technologies, to name a few examples."

Published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the work is the latest effort to build nanostructures that mimic the complexity of natural proteins but are made of durable materials. The researchers focused on a polymer from the peptoid family called a diblock copolypeptoid. This acts like a synthetic equivalent to the peptides that form naturally in proteins.