Induction of Unexpected Left-Handed Helicity by an N-Terminal L-Amino Acid in an Otherwise Achiral Peptide Chain

Secondary structure determines electron transport in peptides

Proteins play a key role in biological electron transport, but the structure-function relationships governing the electronic properties of peptides are not fully understood. Despite recent progress, understanding the link between peptide conformational flexibility, hierarchical structures, and electron transport pathways has been challenging. Here, we use single-molecule experiments, molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, nonequilibrium Green's function-density functional theory (NEGF-DFT), and unsupervised machine learning to understand the role of secondary structure on electron transport in peptides. Our results reveal a two-state molecular conductance behavior for peptides across several different amino acid sequences. MD simulations and Gaussian mixture modeling are used to show that this two-state molecular conductance behavior arises due to the conformational flexibility of peptide backbones, with a high-conductance state arising due to a more defined secondary structure (beta turn or 310 helices) and a low-conductance state occurring for extended peptide structures. These results highlight the importance of helical conformations on electron transport in peptides. Conformer selection for the peptide structures is rationalized using principal component analysis of intramolecular hydrogen bonding distances along peptide backbones. Molecular conformations from MD simulations are used to model charge transport in NEGF-DFT calculations, and the results are in reasonable qualitative agreement with experiments. Projected density of states calculations and molecular orbital visualizations are further used to understand the role of amino acid side chains on transport. Overall, our results show that secondary structure plays a key role in electron transport in peptides, which provides broad avenues for understanding the electronic properties of proteins.

α-Amino-iso-butyric acid foldamers terminated with rhodium(I) N-heterocyclic carbene catalysts

To investigate how remotely induced changes in ligand folding might affect catalysis by organometallic complexes, dynamic α‐amino‐iso‐butyric acid (Aib) peptide foldamers bearing rhodium(I) N‐heterocyclic carbene (NHC) complexes have been synthesized and studied. X‐ray crystallography of a foldamer with an N‐terminal azide and a C‐terminal Rh(NHC)(Cl)(diene) complex showed a racemate with a chiral axis in the Rh(NHC) complex and a distorted 3₁₀ helical body. Replacing the azide with either one or two chiral L‐α‐methylvaline (L‐αMeVal) residues gave diastereoisomeric foldamers that each possessed point, helical and axial chirality. NMR spectroscopy revealed an unequal ratio of diastereoisomers for some foldamers, indicating that the chiral conformational preference of the N‐terminal residue(s) was relayed down the 1 nm helical body to the axially chiral Rh(NHC) complex. Although the remote chiral residue(s) did not affect the stereoselectivity of hydrosilylation reactions catalysed by these foldamers, these studies suggest a potential pathway towards remote conformational control of organometallic catalysts.

Introducing the Chiral Constrained α-Trifluoromethylalanine in Aib foldamers to Control, Quantify and Assign the Helical Screw-Sense

Oligomers of α-aminoisobutyric acid (Aib) are achiral peptides that adopt 3 10 helical structures with equal population of left- and right-handed conformers. Yet, the screw-sense preference of the helical chain may be controlled by a single chiral residue located at one terminus. 1 H and 19 F NMR, X-ray crystallography and circular dichroism studies on new Aib oligomers show that the incorporation of a chiral quaternary α-trifluoromethylalanine at their N -terminus induces a reversal of the screw-sense preference of the 3 10 -helix compared to that of a non-fluorinated analogue having an l-α-methyl valine residue. This work demonstrates that, among the many particular properties of introducing a trifluoromethyl group into foldamers, its stereo-electronic properties are of major interest to control the helical screw sense. Its use as an easy-to-handle 19 F NMR probe to reliably determine both the magnitude of the screw-sense preference and its sign assignment is also of remarkable interest.

Insight into the Mechanism of Action and Peptide-Membrane Interactions of Aib-Rich Peptides: Multitechnique Experimental and Theoretical Analysis

The increase in resistant bacterial strains necessitates the identification of new antimicrobial molecules. Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are an attractive option because of evidence that bacteria cannot easily develop resistance to AMPs. The peptaibols, a class of naturally occurring AMPs, have shown particular promise as antimicrobial drugs, but their development has been hindered by their mechanism of action not being clearly understood. To explore how peptaibols might interact with membranes, circular dichroism, vibrational circular dichroism, linear dichroism, Raman spectroscopy, Raman optical activity, neutron reflectivity and molecular dynamics simulations have been used to study a small library of peptaibol mimics, the Aib-rich peptides. All the peptides studied quickly partitioned and oriented in membranes, and we found evidence of chiral interactions between the phospholipids and membrane-embedded peptides. The protocols presented in this paper open new ground by showing how chiro-optical spectroscopies can throw light on the mechanism of action of AMPs.

Molecular Recognition by Zn(II)-Capped Dynamic Foldamers

Two α-aminoisobutyric acid (Aib) foldamers bearing Zn(II)-chelating N-termini have been synthesized and compared with a reported Aib foldamer that has a bis(quinolinyl)/mono(pyridyl) cap (BQPA group). Replacement of the quinolinyl arms of the BQPA-capped foldamer with pyridyl gave a BPPA-capped foldamer, then further replacement of the linking pyridyl with a 1,2,3-triazole gave a BPTA-capped foldamer. Their ability to relay chiral information from carboxylate bound to Zn(II) at the N-terminus to a glycinamide-based NMR reporter of conformational preference at the C-terminus was measured. The importance of the quinolinyl arms became readily apparent, as the foldamers with pyridyl arms were unable to report on the presence of chiral carboxylate in acetonitrile. Low solubility, X-ray crystallography and 1H NMR spectroscopy suggested that interfoldamer interactions inhibited carboxylate binding. However changing solvent to methanol revealed that the end-to-end relay of chiral information could be observed for the Zn(II) complex of the BPTA-capped foldamer at low temperature.

Ambidextrous α,γ-Hybrid Peptide Foldamers

Molecular chirality is ubiquitous in nature. The natural biopolymers, proteins and DNA, preferred a right-handed helical bias due to the inherent stereochemistry of the monomer building blocks. Here, we are reporting a rare co-existence of left- and right-handed helical conformations and helix-terminating property at the C-terminus within a single molecule of α,γ-hybrid peptide foldamers composed of achiral Aib (α-aminoisobutyric acid) and 3,3-dimethyl-substituted γ-amino acid (Adb; 4-amino-3,3-dimethylbutanoic acid). At the molecular level, the left- and right-handed helical screw sense of α,γ-hybrid peptides are representing a macroscopic tendril perversion. The pronounced helix-terminating behaviour of C-terminal Adb residues was further explored to design helix-Schellman loop mimetics and to study their conformations in solution and single crystals. The stereochemical constraints of dialkyl substitutions on γ-amino acids showed a marked impact on the folding behaviour of α,γ-hybrid peptides.

Optically Active Vibrational Spectroscopy of α-Aminoisobutyric Acid Foldamers in Organic Solvents and Phospholipid Bilayers

Helical α-aminoisobutyric acid (Aib) foldamers show great potential as devices for the communication of conformational information across phospholipid bilayers, but determining their conformation in bilayers remains a challenge. In the present study, Raman, Raman optical activity (ROA), infrared (IR) and vibrational circular dichroism (VCD) spectroscopies have been used to analyze the conformational preferences of Aib foldamers in solution and when interacting with bilayers. A 3₁₀ -helix marker band at 1665-1668 cm^-1 in Raman spectra was used to show that net helical content increased strongly with oligomer length. ROA and VCD spectra of chiral Aib foldamers provided the chiroptical signature for both left- and right-handed 3₁₀ -helices in organic solvents, with VCD establishing that foldamer screw-sense was preserved when the foldamers became embedded within bilayers. However, the population distribution between different secondary structures was perturbed by the chiral phospholipid. These studies indicate that ROA and VCD spectroscopies are valuable tools for the study of biomimetic structures, such as artificial signal transduction molecules, in phospholipid bilayers.

Diastereomeric Right- and Left-Handed Helical Structures with Fourteen (R)-Chiral Centers

The relationship between chiral centers and the helical-screw control of their peptides has already been reported, but it has yet to be elucidated in detail. A chiral four-membered ring α,α-disubstituted α-amino acid with a (R,R)-butane-2,3-diol acetal moiety at the γ-position, but no α-chiral carbon, was synthesized. X-ray crystallographic analysis unambiguously revealed that its homo-chiral heptapeptide formed right-handed (P) and left-handed (M) 3₁₀ -helical structures at a ratio of 1:1. They appeared to be enantiomeric at the peptide backbone, but diastereomeric with fourteen (R)-configuration chiral centers. Conformational analyses of homopeptides in solution also indicated that diastereomeric (P) and (M) helices existed at approximately equal amounts, with a slight preference toward right-handedness, and they quickly interchanged at room temperature. The circumstances of chiral centers are important for the control of their helical-screw direction.

Transferability of different classical force fields for right and left handed α-helices constructed from enantiomeric amino acids

Amino acids can form d and l enantiomers, of which the l enantiomer is abundant in nature. The naturally occurring l enantiomer has a greater preference for a right handed helical conformation, and the d enantiomer for a left handed helical conformation. The other conformations, that is, left handed helical conformations of the l enantiomers and right handed helical conformations of the d enantiomers, are not common. The energetic differences between left and right handed alpha helical peptide chains constructed from enantiomeric amino acids are investigated using quantum chemical calculations (using the M06/6-311g(d,p) level of theory). Further, the performances of commonly used biomolecular force fields (OPLS/AA, CHARMM27/CMAP and AMBER) to represent the different helical conformations (left and right handed) constructed from enantiomeric (D and L) amino acids are evaluated. 5- and 10-mer chains from d and l enantiomers of alanine, leucine, lysine, and glutamic acid, in right and left handed helical conformations, are considered in the study. Thus, in total, 32 α-helical polypeptides (4 amino acids × 4 conformations of 5-mer and 10-mer) are studied. Conclusions, with regards to the performance of the force fields, are derived keeping the quantum optimized geometry as the benchmark, and on the basis of phi and psi angle calculations, hydrogen bond analysis, and different long range helical order parameters.

Refoldable Foldamers: Global Conformational Switching by Deletion or Insertion of a Single Hydrogen Bond

Small changes in the structure of a foldamer may lead to gross changes in conformational preference. We show that the simple insertion or deletion of a single hydrogen bond by changes in pH or by photochemical deprotection is sufficient to refold a helical oligomer, interconverting M and P screw-sense preference. As a consequence of the switch, information may be transmitted to a remote catalytic site, selectively directing the formation of either of two enantiomeric products by a reaction involving 1,22-remote intermolecular asymmetric induction.

Design, Synthesis, and Conformational Analysis of Proposed β-Turn Mimics from Isoxazoline-Cyclopentane Aminols

Constrained aminols from oxazanorbornene derivatives have the geometrical features to be used as β-turn inducers. Four different stereoisomers were prepared and spectroscopically characterized (MD calculations, NMR-titration and VT-NMR experiments). Temperature coefficients in DMSO are indicative for the existence of an intramolecular hydrogen bond. Chirooptical properties revealed a β-turn arrangement of all the synthesized compounds, where, depending on the absolute configuration of the cyclopentane spacer, they can be labeled as left- or right-handed turns.

Designing foldamer-foldamer interactions in solution: the roles of helix length and terminus functionality in promoting the self-association of aminoisobutyric acid oligomers

The biological activity of antibiotic peptaibols has been linked to their ability to aggregate, but the structure-activity relationship for aggregation is not well understood. Herein, we report a systematic study of a class of synthetic helical oligomer (foldamer) composed of aminoisobutyric acid (Aib) residues, which mimic the folding behavior of peptaibols. NMR spectroscopic analysis was used to quantify the dimerization constants in solution, which showed hydrogen-bond donors at the N terminus promoted aggregation more effectively than similar modifications at the C terminus. Elongation of the peptide chain also favored aggregation. The geometry of aggregation in solution was investigated by means of titrations with [D6]DMSO and 2D NOE NMR spectroscopy, which allowed the NH protons most involved in intermolecular hydrogen bonds in solution to be identified. X-ray crystallography studies of two oligomers allowed a comparison of the inter- and intramolecular hydrogen-bonding interactions in the solid state and in solution and gave further insight into the geometry of foldamer-foldamer interactions. These solution-based and solid-state studies indicated that the preferred geometry for aggregation is through head-to-tail interactions between the N and C termini of adjacent Aib oligomers.

Peptide-Nanofiber-Supported Palladium Nanoparticles as an Efficient Catalyst for the Removal of N-Terminus Protecting Groups

Sonication-induced tryptophan- and tyrosine-based peptide bolaamphiphile nanofibers have been used to synthesize and stabilize Pd nanoparticles under physiological conditions. The peptide bolaamphiphile self-assembly process has been thoroughly studied by using several spectroscopic and microscopic techniques. The stiffness of the soft hydrogel matrix was measured by an oscillatory rheological experiment. FTIR and circular dichroism (CD) experiments revealed a hydrogen-bonded β-sheet conformation of peptide bolaamphiphile molecules in a gel-phase medium. The π-π stacking interactions also played a crucial role in the self-assembly process, which was confirmed by fluorescence spectroscopy. Electron (SEM and TEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) studies showed that the peptide bolaamphiphile molecules self-assemble into nanofibrillar structures. Pd nanoparticles were synthesized in the hydrogel matrix in which redox-active tryptophan and tyrosine residues reduce the metal ions to metal nanoparticles. The size of the Pd nanoparticles are in the range of 3-9 nm, and are stabilized by peptide nanofibers. The peptide-nanofiber-supported Pd nanoparticles have shown effective catalytic activity for the removal of N-terminus protecting groups of amino acids and peptides.