Correlation of the Dynamic Behavior ofn-Alkyl Ligands of the Stationary Phase with the Retention Times of Paracelsin Peptides in Reversed Phase HPLC

Surface Modification of Silica with β-Alanine Derivatives for Unique Applications in Liquid Chromatography

Column purchasing cost is an important issue for an analyst to analyze complex sample matrices. Here, we report the development of an amino acid (β-alanine)-derived stationary phase (Sil-Ala-C12) with strategic and effective interaction sites (amide and urea as embedded polar groups with C12 alkyl chain) able to separate various kinds of analytes. Owing to the balanced hydrophobicity and hydrophilicity of the phase, it showed exceptional separation abilities in both reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) as a hydrophobic phase and hydrophilic interaction chromatography (HILIC) as a hydrophilic phase. Remarkably, the baseline separation was achieved for the challenging β- and γ-isomers of tocopherol. Usually, three columns such as pentafluorophenyl or C30, C18, and sulfobetaine HILIC are required for the analysis of vitamin E, capsaicinoids, and vitamin C in chili peppers (Capsicum spp.), respectively. However, only Sil-Ala-C12 was able to separate these analytes. A single column can serve 3-4 purposes, which suggests that Sil-Ala-C12 had the potential to reduce column purchasing costs.

Sequences of stilboflavin C: towards the peptaibiome of the filamentous fungus Stilbella (= Trichoderma) flavipes

Filamentous fungi of the genus Stilbella are recognized as an abundant source of naturally occurring α-aminoisobutyric acid-containing peptides. The culture broth of Stilbella (Trichoderma) flavipes CBS 146.81 yielded a mixture of peptides named stilboflavins (SF), and these were isolated and separated by preparative TLC into groups named SF-A, SF-B, and SF-C. Although all three of these groups resolved as single spots on thin-layer chromatograms, HPLC analysis revealed that each of the groups represents very microheterogeneous mixtures of closely related peptides. Here, we report on the sequence analysis of SF-C peptides, formerly isolated by preparative TLC. HPLC coupled to QqTOF-ESI-HRMS provided the sequences of 10 16-residue peptides and five 19-residue peptides, all of which were N-terminally acetylated. In contrast to the previously described SF-A and SF-B peptaibols, SF-C peptaibols contain Ser-Alaol or Ser-Leuol, which are rarely found as C-termini, and repetitive Leu-Aib-Gly sequences, which have not been detected in peptaibols before. Taking the previously determined sequences of SF-A and SF-B into account, the entirety of peptides produced by S. flavipes (the 'peptaibiome') approaches or exceeds 100 non-ribosomally biosynthesized peptaibiotics. Copyright © 2016 European Peptide Society and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Alamethicin interaction with lipid membranes: a spectroscopic study on synthetic analogues

Alamethicin (Alm) is one of the most extensively studied membrane-active antibiotic peptides, but several aspects of its mechanism of action are still under debate. In this study, synthetic analogues of natural Alm F50/5 (Alm-N), labeled with a 9H-fluoren-9-yl group at the N- (F-Alm) or C-terminus (Alm-F), were employed to investigate the position and orientation of this peptide in the membrane environment. Depth-dependent fluorescence quenching and polarized ATR-FT-IR experiments demonstrated that, in the absence of a transmembrane potential, Alm inserts its N-terminus into the membrane, while the C-terminus is exposed to the outer aqueous phase. We also found that the peptaibol populates different orientations with respect to the membrane normal. Furthermore, fluorescence resonance-energy transfer (FRET) indicated that no peptide translocation to the inner leaflet of lipid bilayers occurs. The mechanism of action of Alm is discussed on the basis of these findings. Two other Alm analogues, Alm-P and Alm-S, were exploited to investigate the role of specific Alm residues in terms of membrane-perturbing activity. Substitution of two or three Gln (E) residues (the only polar amino acids in the alamethicin sequence) by gamma-methyl glutamate (Glu(OMe)) residues induced marked variations in the aggregation and partition behaviors of the peptaibols, which, in turn, modulate their membrane activity. In particular, substitution of Gln(18) and Gln(19) caused a six-fold increase in membrane-perturbing activity, thus demonstrating that these residues are not essential for the stabilization of Alm pores.

Sequences of polypeptide antibiotics stilboflavins, natural peptaibol libraries of the mold Stilbella flavipes

From the culture broths of the mold Stilbella flavipes CBS 146.81, a mixture of polypeptides could be isolated by adsorption on XAD polystyrene resin and purified by Sephadex LH-20 chromatography. Using preparative thin-layer chromatography (TLC) three groups of peptides, named stilboflavins (SF) A, B, and C could be separated. Each of the groups showed microheterogeneity when investigated by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Employing on-line HPLC-electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry in the positive and negative ionization mode, together with gas chromatography-selected ion monitoring mass spectrometry, enantioselective GC and quantitative amino acid analysis, the sequences of stilboflavins A and B could be determined. Exchange of Glu in stilboflavins A peptides (acidic) against Gln in stilboflavins B peptides (neutral) is the rational for different polarity of the peptide groups and their separatability by TLC. Since SF A and B are bioactive N-acetylated 20-residue peptides with a high proportion of alpha-aminoisobutyric acid and C-terminal bonded amino alcohols (either leucinol, isoleucinol or valinol) the peptides belong to the group of peptaibol antibiotics.

High-performance liquid chromatography of amino acids, peptides and proteins. CXXVIII. Effect of D-amino acid substitutions on the reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography retention behaviour of neuropeptide Y[18-36] analogues

The reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatographic (RP-HPLC) gradient elution behaviour of a series of peptides related to Neuropeptide Y (NPY) has been investigated. The peptides studied included NPY, NPY[13-36], NPY[18-36] and a series of 16 analogues of NPY[18-36], each with a single D-amino acid substitution. Chromatographic parameters which relate to the interactive contact area and the binding affinity have been evaluated with two different stationary phase ligands and two organic modifiers. The results demonstrate that D-amino acid substitutions in the sequence region encompassing amino acid residues NPY[27-31] of these NPY[18-36] peptides significantly influence the interactive behaviour of these peptides relative to the unsubstituted NPY[18-36] molecule, while substitutions in the N- and C-terminal regions had little effect. Further, these results indicate that, in hydrophobic environments, NPY[18-36] adopts a significant degree of secondary structure which is severely disrupted by the presence of the D-amino acids in the central portion of the molecule.

Retention behaviour of paracelsin peptides on reversed-phase silicas with varying n-alkyl chain length and ligand density

As part of further investigations on the characterization of the ligand-induced conformational stabilization of peptides, two series of n-alkyldimethylsilyl bonded silicas have been prepared. In series A the n-alkyl chain length, n, of the bonded phase was varied between 1 and 20 carbon atoms at a constant ligand density. In series B the ligand density, alpha exp, was gradually changed from 0 to 4.1 mumol/m2 on a C1, C4, C6, C8 and C18 bonded phase. The retention behaviour of four peptides of the paracelsin family were examined under isocratic conditions, using a ternary mobile phase of water-methanol-acetonitrile (22:39:39, v/v/v). Plots of k' versus n showed pronounced maxima between n = 2 and 4 carbon atoms, followed by a decrease by a factor of 3 at n = 5, whereas above 5 carbon atoms only a slight increase in k' was observed. The selectivity behaviour of the paracelsins A-D can be mainly rationalized by interaction of the amphiphathic polypeptide 3.6(13) (alpha)-helix with the hydrophobic ligand and protrusion of the key amino acid residues at positions 6 and 9 in the sequence. However, from experiments with a polystyrene stationary phase it is evident that hydrophobic interactions and different partition coefficients also contribute to the resolution of the paracelsin peptides. Furthermore, Van 't Hoff plots confirm significant free energy changes associated with retention. These observations provide the basis for evaluating the enthalpic and entropic changes associated with peptide interactions with n-alkyl silicas.