Non-standard amino acids and peptides : From self-assembly to nanomaterials

The exploitation of peptides in the development of smart nanomaterials is gaining increasing attention in the last few years. Amino acids are indeed able to drive the self-assembly and the self-organization at the molecular level. By using non-standard amino acids, it is possible to expand the scope of the possible applications, ranging from biomaterials, biosensors to drug delivery systems. In this digest, the recent advances in this field are presented.