Self assembly of biologically inspired amphiphiles

Aim of this short review is to emphasize the most important and recent developments on self-assembled structures composed of amphiphiles where biological functionalities are embedded. Over the last few years we have witnessed a sprouting of the literature concerning these issues. The ability to combine Nature's strategies to build artificial molecular devices, with the possibility to impart responsive and tunable properties, typical of amphiphilic self-assemblies, is likely to have an impressive impact on Nanoscience and Soft Matter Science in the next decade. (C) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.