Peptide-based synthetic molecules and silica nanostructures

A synthetic molecule comprising the amino acid sequence of a silica-binding peptide and at least one terminal fusion molecule, wherein each of the at least one terminal fusion molecules is fused to at least one terminal end of the amino acid sequence comprising the amino acid sequence of the silica-binding peptide and optionally wherein:

• at least one of the at least one terminal fusion molecules is a polypeptide selected from the group consisting of Mms6, MamC, CNT1, and CNT2;
• and/or
• the amino acid sequence of the silica-binding peptide comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:
• 1, SEQ ID NO:
• 2, SEQ ID NO:
• 3, SEQ NO:
• 4, SEQ ID NO:
• 5, SEQ ID NO:
• 6, SEQ ID NO:
• 7, SEQ ID NO:
• 8, SEQ ID NO:
• 9, SEQ ID NO:
• 10, SEQ ID NO:
• 11, SEQ ID NO:
• 12, or SEQ ID NO:
• 13, SEQ ID NO:
• 14, SEQ ID NO:
• 15, SEQ ID NO:
• 16, SEQ ID NO:
• 17, SEQ ID NO:
• 18, SEQ ID NO:
• 19, SEQ ID NO:
• 20, SEQ ID NO:
• 21, SEQ ID NO:
• 22, SEQ ID NO:
• 23, SEQ ID NO:
• 24, SEQ ID NO:
• 25, SEQ ID NO:
• 26, SEQ ID NO:
• 27, SEQ ID NO:
• 28, SEQ ID NO:
• 29, SEQ ID NO:
• 30, SEQ ID NO:
• 31, SEQ ID NO:
• 32, SEQ ID NO:
• 33, or SEQ ID NO:
• 34, and/or a functional variant, thereof.