Inside Front Cover: Topological Transformation of Vesicular Mesostructured Silica (Adv. Mater. 5/2005)

The micrometer‐scale self‐assembly behavior of MCM‐41‐type mesostructured silica is shown by Tang and co‐workers on p. 578 through study of a family of vesicular mesostructured silica with topology genera from 1 to 0. The inside cover shows a series of typical vesicular structures with different topologies on the micrometer scale. A better understanding of the micrometer‐scale self‐assembly behavior provides a guide for the rational design of new hierarchical organic–inorganic composite materials, and may also shed new light on the natural biosilicification process.     

Beyond Silica: Nonoxidic Mesostructured Materials

Recent advances in the design and synthesis of mesostructured and mesoporous materials with nonoxide frameworks are reviewed. Chalcogenides comprise the most important class, and all possible pore arrangements known for silica can be achieved in these materials. The special molecular chemistry that leads to organized nonoxidic mesostructures that have a variety of compositions, pore sizes, and semiconductor bandgaps is presented. Also reviewed are recent developments in mesoporous elements, such as metals and germanium. The goal in research on mesoporous semiconductors is to create materials scaffolds with new physical phenomena that derive from the combined characteristics of long‐range porosity and electronic and optical properties.     

Scope and Applications of Amphiphilic Alkyl‐ and Lipopeptides

Nowadays oligopeptides can be easily synthesized and their secondary and tertiary structure is controlled by the amino acid sequence. Alkylation or lipidation of the hydrophilic peptides adds additional amphiphilicity which can be used in several applications. Examples are given of bioactive compounds (e.g., targeted drug delivery) and the self‐assembly into well‐defined surfaces able to act as templates for biomineralization is discussed.     

Cover Picture: Self‐Assembled Metal Oxide Bilayer Films with “Single‐Crystalline” Overlayer Mesopore Structure (Adv. Mater. 8/2007)

Mesoporous films with biaxial, “single‐crystalline” arrangements of spherical pores are obtained by “evaporation‐induced self‐assembly” (EISA) in work reported by Torsten Brezesinski, Markus Antonietti, and Bernd Smarsly on p. 1074. The films are dip‐coated onto a sublayer with sufficiently different surface tension and a specific nanoscale periodicity. Low adhesion to the sublayer surface results in a relatively small number of nucleation sites and a uniform orientation of the evolving mesostructure in the toplayer.     

Peptide‐Based Nanotubes and Their Applications in Bionanotechnology

In nature, biological nanomaterials are synthesized under ambient conditions in a natural microscopic‐sized laboratory, such as a cell. Biological molecules, such as peptides and proteins, undergo self‐assembly processes in vivo and in vitro, and these monomers are assembled into various nanometer‐scale structures at room temperature and atmospheric pressure. The self‐assembled peptide nanostructures can be further organized to form nanowires, nanotubes, and nanoparticles via their molecular‐recognition functions. The application of molecular self‐assemblies of synthetic peptides as nanometer‐scale building blocks in devices is robust, practical, and affordable due to their advantages of reproducibility, large‐scale production ability, monodispersity, and simpler experimental methods. It is also beneficial that smart functionalities can be added at desired positions in peptide nanotubes through well‐established chemical and peptide syntheses. These features of peptide‐based nanotubes are the driving force for investigating and developing peptide nanotube assemblies for biological and non‐biological applications.