The capacity to create an increasing variety of bioactive molecules that are designed to assemble in specific configurations has opened up tremendous possibilities in the design of materials with an unprecedented level of control and functionality. A particular challenge involves guiding such self-assembling interactions across scales, thus precisely positioning individual molecules within well-organized, highly-ordered structures. Such hierarchical control is essential if peptides and proteins are to serve as both structural and functional building blocks of biomedical materials. To achieve this goal, top-down techniques are increasingly being used in combination with self-assembling systems to reproducibly manipulate, localize, orient and assemble peptides and proteins to form organized structures. In this tutorial review we provide insight into how both standard and novel top-down techniques are being used in combination with peptide or protein self-assembly to create a new generation of functional materials.

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A new strategy for the immunochemical screening of small organic molecules is reported based on the use of hapten-microarrays. Using DNA-directed immobilization strategies we have been able to convert a DNA chip into a hapten-microarray taking advantage of all the benefits of the structural and electrostatic homogeneous properties fo the DNA in comparison to proteins. Moreover, the hapten-microarray uses hapten-oligonucleotide probes instead of protein, avoiding the limitations derived from preparing stechiometrically defined proteinoligonucleotide bioconjugates. As proof-of concept, we show here the development of a microarray for anabolic androgenic steroid (AAS) analysis. The microchip is able to detect several illegal substances with sufficient detectability to be use as screening method according to the World Antidoping Agency (WADA) and the European Commision (EC) regulations in the sport and food safety fields, respectively. The results shown here corroborates the universal possibilities of the DNA-chip, in this case opening the possibility to develop hapten-microarrays for small organic molecule immunochemical determinations.

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