Designer variable repeat length polypeptides as scaffolds for surface immobilization of quantum dots

A series of engineered, variable-length de novo polypeptides is used to discreetly immobilize luminescent semiconductor nanocrystals or quantum dots (QDs) onto functional surfaces. The versatility of this immobilization strategy is highlighted by the creation of a variety of one- and two-dimensional polypeptide-QD structures as well as a self-assembled surface-immobilized fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET)-based utrient sensor.