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HERO ID
1037678
Reference Type
Journal Article
Title
Self-assembly of short peptides composed of only aliphatic amino acids and a combination of aromatic and aliphatic amino acids
Author(s)
Subbalakshmi, C; Manorama, SV; Nagaraj, R
Year
2012
Is Peer Reviewed?
Yes
Journal
Journal of Peptide Science
ISSN:
1075-2617
Volume
18
Issue
5
Page Numbers
283-292
Language
English
PMID
22431418
DOI
10.1002/psc.2395
Abstract
The morphology of structures formed by the self-assembly of short N-terminal t-butyloxycarbonyl (Boc) and C-terminal methyl ester (OMe) protected and Boc-deprotected hydrophobic peptide esters was investigated. We have observed that Boc-protected peptide esters composed of either only aliphatic hydrophobic amino acids or aliphatic hydrophobic amino acids in combination with aromatic amino acids, formed highly organized structures, when dried from methanol solutions. Transmission and scanning electron microscopic images of the peptides Boc-Ile-Ile-OMe, Boc-Phe-Phe-Phe-Ile-Ile-OMe and Boc-Trp-Ile-Ile-OMe showed nanotubular structures. Removal of the Boc group resulted in disruption of the ability to form tubular structures though spherical aggregates were formed. Both Boc-Leu-Ile-Ile-OMe and H-Leu-Ile-Ile-OMe formed only spherical nanostructures. Dynamic light scattering studies showed that aggregates of varying dimensions were present in solution suggesting that self-assembly into ordered structures is facilitated by aggregation in solution. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and circular dichroism spectroscopy data show that although all four of the protected peptides adopt well-defined tertiary structures, upon removal of the Boc group, only H-Phe-Phe-Phe-Ile-Ile-OMe had the ability to adopt β-structure. Our results indicate that hydrophobic interaction is a very important determinant for self-assembly and presence of charged and aromatic amino acids in a peptide is not necessary for self-assembly. Copyright © 2012 European Peptide Society and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Keywords
beta structure; hydrophobic peptides; self-assembly; nanotubes; spherical nanostructures
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IRIS
•
Methanol (Non-Cancer)
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