Self-assembled peptide and protein amyloid nanostructures have traditionally been considered only as pathological aggregates implicated in human neurodegenerative diseases. In more recent times, these nanostructures have found interesting applications as advanced materials in biomedicine, tissue engineering, renewable energy, environmental science, nanotechnology and material science, to name only a few fields. In all these applications, the final function depends on: (i) the specific mechanisms of protein aggregation, (ii) the hierarchical structure of the protein and peptide amyloids from the atomistic to mesoscopic length scales and (iii) the physical properties of the amyloids in the context of their surrounding environment (biological or artificial). In this review, we will discuss recent progress made in the field of functional and artificial amyloids and highlight connections between protein/peptide folding, unfolding and aggregation mechanisms, with the resulting amyloid structure and functionality. We also highlight current advances in the design and synthesis of amyloid-based biological and functional materials and identify new potential fields in which amyloid-based structures promise new breakthroughs.

Colorimetric sensors fabricated via nanomaterials and nanotechnology exhibited promising applications in environmental science.

Graphene-based materials have attracted increasing attention due to their atomically-thick two-dimensional structures, high conductivity, excellent mechanical properties, and large specific surface areas. The combination of biomolecules with graphene-based materials offers a promising method to fabricate novel graphene-biomolecule hybrid nanomaterials with unique functions in biology, medicine, nanotechnology, and materials science. In this review, we focus on a summarization of the recent studies in functionalizing graphene-based materials using different biomolecules, such as DNA, peptides, proteins, enzymes, carbohydrates, and viruses. The different interactions between graphene and biomolecules at the molecular level are demonstrated and discussed in detail. In addition, the potential applications of the created graphene-biomolecule nanohybrids in drug delivery, cancer treatment, tissue engineering, biosensors, bioimaging, energy materials, and other nanotechnological applications are presented. This review will be helpful to know the modification of graphene with biomolecules, understand the interactions between graphene and biomolecules at the molecular level, and design functional graphene-based nanomaterials with unique properties for various applications.

Graphene (G)-based nanocomposites have received much attention in various disciplines due to their high specific surface area, good compatibility, low mass density, elegant flexibility as well as the excellent synergistic effect of G with other nanomaterials. Numerous studies have been attempted to fabricate G-based polymer composites with novel and improved properties. However, the dispersion behavior of G in polymer matrix and the interfacial bonding between G and polymers still restrict the better performances and broader applications of the fabricated G-polymer nanocomposites. In this review, we summarized the most recent studies on the modification of G with polymers and the subsequent synthesis and applications of the high quality G-polymer nanocomposites. The strategies for surface modification of G with polymers, including various covalent and non-covalent techniques, are introduced in detail. In addition, a series of effective processing routes for producing high quality G-polymer nanocomposites, such as melt compounding, solution blending, insitu polymerization, latex mixing, and electropolymerization are introduced and discussed. Finally, the potential applications of the synthesized G-polymer nanocomposites in electrocatalyts, drug delivery, high performance materials, biosensors, and biomedical materials are presented.