L-Phenylalanine-derived pseudopeptidic bioinspired materials: Zn(II) induced fluorescence enhancement and precise tuning of self-assembled nanostructures.

The pseudopeptide, owing to its intriguing, sustainable, and easily accessible multifunctional properties, has attracted significant research interest over the years. C 2 -symmetric pseudopeptidic chiral bioinspired materials have been developed for their selective sensitivity to Zn(II) ions via a turn-on fluorescence under physiological conditions. Moreover, these are promising soft materials for precisely tuning their self-assembled nanostructures after incubating with Zn(II), opening avenues for exploring similar effects in various peptidomimetics.