abstract
Piezoelectricity is one of the important functional properties inherent to many biomaterials. It stems from the non-centrosymmetric crystal structure of most biopolymers including proteins, polysaccharides, and lipids. Understanding the relationship between the generated electric field and applied mechanical stress has become the main motivation to studying piezoelectricity in biological systems and artificial biomaterials at the nanoscale. In this work, we present a review of the piezoelectric and ferroelectric properties of several molecular systems and nanomaterials revealed by Piezoresponse Force Microscopy (PFM) and compare the results with molecular modeling and computer simulations. Experimentally observed by PFM and calculated dielectric, piezoelectric, and ferroelectric properties of these materials are analyzed in the context of their possible role in functionality of biological systems. (C) 2014 AIP Publishing LLC.
keywords
DIPHENYLALANINE PEPTIDE NANOTUBES; CRYSTAL STRUCTURE; BETA-GLYCINE; HYDROPHOBIC DIPEPTIDES; THERMODYNAMIC ASPECTS; OPTICAL-PROPERTIES; ACHIRAL MOLECULES; GAMMA-GLYCINE; NANOSCALE; BIOFERROELECTRICITY
subject category
Physics
authors
Bystrov, VS; Seyedhosseini, E; Kopyl, S; Bdikin, IK; Kholkin, AL
our authors
Andrei Kholkin
Principal Researcher
Ensieh Seyedhosseini
PhD Student
Svitlana Kopyl
Researcher
Vladimir Bystrov
Post-doc Fellowshipacknowledgements
The work was supported by the European Commission within FP7Marie Curie Initial Training Network