This book serves as a major reference for theoretical and experimental considerations in the design of biological and bio-inspired building blocks, the physical characterization of the formed structures, and the development of their technical applications.

Experimental Approach.- Molecular Design of Performance Proteins With Repetitive Sequences.- Creation of Hybrid Nanorods From Sequences of Natural Trimeric Fibrous Proteins Using the Fibritin Trimerization Motif.- The Leucine Zipper as a Building Block for Self-Assembled Protein Fibers.- Biomimetic Synthesis of Bimorphic Nanostructures.- Synthesis and Primary Characterization of Self-Assembled Peptide-Based Hydrogels.- Periodic Assembly of Nanospecies on Repetitive DNA Sequences Generated on Gold Nanoparticles by Rolling Circle Amplification.- Computational Approach.- Protocols for the In Silico Design of RNA Nanostructures.- Self-Assembly of Fused Homo-Oligomers to Create Nanotubes.- Computational Methods in Nanostructure Design.- Modeling Amyloid Fibril Formation.- Computer Modeling in Biotechnology.- What Can We Learn From Highly Connected ß-Rich Structures for Structural Interface Design?.

As one of the fastest growing fields of research in the 21st century, nanotechnology is sure to have an enormous impact on many aspects of our lives.  Nanostructure Design: Methods and Protocols serves as a major reference for theoretical and experimental considerations in the design of biological and bio-inspired building blocks, the physical characterization of the formed structures, and the development of their technical applications.  The chapters contributed by leading experts are divided into two sections, the first of which covers experimental aspects of nanostructure design and the second delves into computational methods.  As a volume of the highly successful Methods in Molecular Biology™ series, this collection pulls together cutting-edge protocols, written in a step-by-step, readily reproducible format certain to guide researchers to the desired results. Comprehensive and essential, Nanostructure Design: Methods and Protocols uses biological principles and vehicles on design to aid scientists in the great challenges still ahead.

From the reviews: "The reviewed book, written by experts and active researchers, provides a well selected overview of the actual state-of-the-art of bionanotechnology. The book can be thus strongly recommended as a valuable help for those involved in research, teaching, learning and practice in this field." (Kazimierz L. Wierzchowski and Krzysztof Pawlowski, Acta Biochimica Polonica, Vol. 56 (2), 2009)

Covers both experimental and computational protocols Provides information about the design of the building blocks by experimental exploration of synthetic chemicals, biological prospects, and theoretical studies of the conformational space Explores the characterization of the formed nanostructures by various biophysical techniques Explains the application of the bionanostructures in various fields including biosensors, diagnostics, molecular imaging, and tissue-engineering Contains readily reproducible, easy-to-use methods