Fabrication of Nanostructures Using Self-Assembled Peptides as Templates: The Diphenylalanine Case

This chapter evaluates the use of a short-aromatic dipeptide, diphenylalanine, as a template in the fabrication of new nanostructures (nanowires, coaxial nanocables, nanochannels) using materials such as silicon, conducting and non-conducting polymers. Diphenylalanine self-organize into nanostructures (nanotubes, nanofibers or nanospheres) under very mild conditions; some of its properties make them excellent candidates to be use as, for instance, dry-etch masks in a reactive ion etching process for the rapid fabrication of silicon micro and nanowires. Here, the methods used to exploit the advantages of diphenylalanine are explained step by step offering new alternatives to fabricate nanostructures in a simple and rapid way. The chapter is complemented with techniques to manipulate the self-assembled diphenylalanine nanostructures without changing its properties during the manipulation process.