Peptide diffusion and self-assembly in ambient water nanofilm on mica surface.

Ambient water nanofilms confined on solid surfaces usually show properties not seen in bulk and play unique roles in many important processes. Here we report diffusion and self-assembly of peptides in ambient water nanofilms on mica, based on "drying microcontact printing" and ex situ atomic force microscopy imaging. We found that diffusion and self-assembly of several peptides in the water nanofilms on mica resulted in one-dimensional "epitaxial" nanofilaments.