Transient self-templating assembly of M13 bacteriophage for enhanced biopiezoelectric devices

Many biogenic materials are hierarchically structured across several length scales. Attaining similar control over bottom-up assembly would allow for efficient synthesis of materials for enhanced electrical or energy generating devices. Here we developed a transient self-templating assembly process inspired by nature for the synthesis of enhanced biopiezoelectric devices. We used M13 bacteriophage (phage) as a piezoelectric nanofiber building block and created hierarchically organized nano- and micro-structures for enhanced piezoelectric devices. We controlled the self-assembly of M13 phage by exploiting transiently forming, periodic menisci. Each micron-sized meniscus directed the local formation of hexagonally packed nanostructures that further assembled into macroscopic, hierarchical structures. By tuning deposition parameters during the transient self-templating assembly process, we created diverse array of phage nanostructures. The resulting hierarchically organized phage nanostructure exhibited enhanced piezoelectric energy generation performance. Our transient self-templating assembly process can assemble many other energy generating colloidal nanoparticles into ordered nanostructures for the development of optical, mechanical, and electrical materials in the future in an energy efficient manner.