This text concerns the intrinsic self-assembling behaviour of peptides and the implications of these properties for a broad range of applications. These include protein conformational diseases, the engineering of nanostructured biodegradable and biocompatible polymeric materials with potential applications in tissue engineering, biomedical devices, industrial fluids and personal care products. This area of endeavour is outlined in a series of 25 articles summarizing lectures presented at the meeting on this topic held in Crete in July 1999. The articles address generic issues making the text readily amenable to postgraduate students, academics, and research scientists interested in new challenges at the physical sciences - life sciences interface.