Peptide nanoarchitectonics beyond long-range ordering.

Long-range disordered structures are ubiquitous in biological organisms and hold crucial significance for their unique structure and function. Inspired by these natural architectures, much attention has been devoted to constructing long-range disordered materials based on biomolecules in vitro. Peptides, especially short peptides consisting of several to dozens of amino acids, have emerged as ideal building blocks due to their versatile structural and functional diversity, along with their notable biocompatibility and biodegradability. As a result, significant efforts have been made to develop short peptide nanoarchitectonics with long-range disorder (SPNLRD). Understanding the fundamental mechanisms underlying the formation of SPNLRD is crucial for the precise design and construction of these architectures with specific functionalities. This review summarizes the latest advancements in the construction and application of SPNLRD. We place particular emphasis on the design principles for SPNLRD construction and stabilization, based on a comprehensive discussion from the perspectives of thermodynamics, kinetics and intermolecular interactions. Finally, we assess the critical challenges currently facing SPNLRD and highlight the future directions in the field, proposing research strategies aimed at enhancing the stability and improving the precision of control over these materials.