We have used the FliTrx cell surface display system to identify disulfide-constrained dodecapeptides binding to the semiconducting metal oxides Cu2O and ZnO. Sequence analysis of the inserts revealed that the two populations exhibit similar, yet subtly different patterns of amino acid usage. Both sets of binders were enriched in arginine, tryptophan, and glycine with a higher degree of positional preference in the case Of Cu2O binders. Tyrosine, proline, and serine were underrepresented in both populations. Peptides binding electrodeposited Cu2O or ZnO with high avidity could be subdivided into two classes based on pl and hydrophilicity. In the hydrophilic and positively charged Class I binders, the Arg - X - X - Arg tetrapeptide appears to be implicated in metal oxide binding, whereas Arg-Arg and Arg-Lys pairs allow for discrimination between Cu2O and ZnO. Molecular dynamics simulations of the disulfide-constrained pepticles suggest that the aforementioned motifs are important to properly orient two basic residues that are likely to contact the metal oxides. The implications of our results in understanding the rules governing the interaction between peptides and inorganic compounds and in their use for the design of hybrid nanoarchitectures are discussed. (C) 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.