Warsaw, Poland, 8 – 10 July 2026

Aim and scope of the conference

The International Conference on Peptide Materials for Biomedicine and Nanotechnology (Peptide Materials, PepMat) has firmly established itself as a leading forum for the exchange of ideas and the presentation of the latest advances in peptide materials science. Since its inception in 2013, PepMat has been hosted in several vibrant European cities: Sorrento, Italy (2013 and 2023), Barcelona, Spain (2016), and London, United Kingdom (2018). Each edition has brought together leading scientists and researchers from around the world to discuss emerging trends, challenges, and innovations in the field of peptide-based materials.

Over the years, research on peptide-based materials has developed into an interdisciplinary, independent, and highly dynamic field of science, encompassing physics, chemistry, biology, and computational science. The controlled design and manipulation of peptide-based nano- and microstructures represent a major scientific challenge. In this context, the concepts, methodologies, computational tools, and strategies developed within materials science offer great potential for exploiting peptides as a unique class of functional materials. Whether used independently or in combination with conventional materials, such as polymers or inorganic nanoparticles, peptides provide exciting opportunities for the development of innovative applications, particularly in biomedical and nanotechnological fields.

The 2026 edition of the PepMat conference was held on 8–10 July at the Radisson Blu Sobieski Hotel in Warsaw, Poland. The conference was organized by the Faculty of Chemistry, University of Warsaw.

The members of the Scientific Committee were:

Carlos Aleman (Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, Barcelona)

Nurit Ashkenasy (Ben-Gurion University of the Negev)

Maria Luisa Gelmi (University of Milan)

Ian Hamley (University of Reading)

Giancarlo Morelli (University of Naples)

Karolina Pułka-Ziach (University of Warsaw)

Sławomir Sek (University of Warsaw)

Mariano Venanzi (Università di Roma Tor Vergata)

The members of the Organizing Committee were:

Damian Dziubak

Joanna Juhaniewicz-Dębińska

Michalina Zaborowska-Mazurkiewicz

Conference Programme, Invited Speakers, and Participants

The conference was attended by 83 participants representing both European countries (Poland, France, Italy, Spain, and Germany, the UK) and non-European countries (the USA, Israel, and China). The participants included established researchers as well as early-career scientists, such as postdocs, PhD students, and students.

The scientific programme was highly intensive and featured three plenary lectures delivered by:

• Silvia Marchesan (University of Trieste) – Embracing the Void without Collapsing with Heterochiral Peptides
• Meital Reches (Hebrew University of Jerusalem) – Short Peptides and Amino Acids as Building Blocks for Sustainable Materials and Coatings
• Darrin Pochan (University of Delaware) – Biomolecules for Non-biological Things: Peptide “Bundlemer” Design for Model Nanoparticle Creation and Hierarchical Solution Assembly

The plenary lectures were complemented by six oral sessions, including five invited lectures presented by:

• Javier Montenegro (Universidad de Santiago de Compostela) – Supramolecular Dynamic Chemistry for Membrane Transport and Biomimetic Systems
• Gonen Ashkenasy (Ben-Gurion University of the Negev) – Self-Synthesizing Peptide-Based Materials
• Emilia Sikorska (University of Gdańsk) – Rational Design of Self-Assembling Peptides with Antimicrobial Activity
• Colin Bonduelle (University of Bordeaux) – Polypeptides as Biomimetic Polymers: From Protein Inspiration to Functional Materials
• Katarzyna Słowińska (California State University, Long Beach) – From Nanoparticles to 2D Sheets: Collagen Peptides/Nucleic Acids Biomaterials Driven by Multivalent Electrostatic Assembly

The oral sessions also included contributions from PhD students and early-career researchers. They were highly stimulating, as reflected by the large number of questions and discussions generated among participants. The presentations covered a broad and diverse range of topics, ensuring that researchers with different scientific backgrounds could find subjects of particular interest.

During the conference, one poster session was organized, featuring 30 posters presented mainly by young scientists. Thanks to the support of Kamush company, prizes were awarded for outstanding poster presentations. The exceptionally high quality of both the posters and the underlying scientific work made the selection process particularly challenging. The Poster Award Committee therefore decided to award two prizes (Tamara Rudolf and Saurabh Yadav). Additionally, the Faculty of Chemistry, University of Warsaw, funded a third award – the People’s Choice Award (Milena Czeszejko).

Support and Acknowledgements

Financial and organizational support from companies and institutions played a crucial role in the success of the conference. Their involvement enabled the invitation and hosting of distinguished speakers, the preparation of conference materials, and the organization of poster competitions dedicated to young researchers. We would like to express our sincere gratitude to all sponsors, partners, and patrons for their invaluable support and collaboration.

The PepMat 2026 Conference was an inspiring scientific event that brought together researchers from around the world, strengthened existing collaborations, fostered new scientific partnerships, and stimulated the exchange of ideas, thereby contributing to the continued development of peptide materials science. Beyond its scientific impact, the meeting created a valuable opportunity to build professional relationships and friendships within the peptide materials community.

We are grateful to the EPS for their sponsorship and support of the meeting.

The Organizing Committee