Biogenic sensors based on dipeptide assemblies

Dipeptides are highly attractive because they are biocompatible building blocks and can be manipulated to form various sensing materials through molecular assembly. These sensors exhibit appealing abilities to interact with force, electricity, light, and chemical stimulus and then generate electrical, optical, and mechanical signals, which have been applied in solutions ranging from microelectronics to healthcare issues. Furthermore, dipeptide sensors not only share the benefits of biological molecules, such as flexibility and stretchability, but also are provided with excellent mechanical and electrical properties, including piezoelectricity, ferroelectricity, and semiconductivity. Hence, these advantages are significantly promoted in dipeptide-based sensing materials, which improve sensing performance and are favorable for optimizing sensing materials in design, fabrication, and application. This perspective summarizes the molecular assembly of dipeptides, focusing on how to assemble dipeptides into biogenic sensors and their applications. Finally, we discuss the challenges and prospects for the future development of dipeptide-based sensing materials.