Self-Assembly and Dynamics of Polypeptides

Aqueous Circularly Polarized Luminescence Induced by Homopolypeptide Self-Assembly

Remarkable advances have been achieved in solution self-assembly of polypeptides from the perspective of nanostructures, mechanisms, and applications. Despite the intrinsic chirality of polypeptides, the promising generation of aqueous circularly polarized luminescence (CPL) based on their self-assembly has been rarely reported due to the weak fluorescence of most polypeptides and the indeterminate self-assembly mechanism. Here, we propose a facile strategy for achieving aqueous CPL based on the self-assembly of simple homopolypeptides modified with a terminal group featuring both twisted intramolecular charge transfer and aggregation-induced emission properties. A morphology-dependent CPL can be observed under different self-assembly conditions by altering the solvents. A nanotoroid-dispersed aqueous solution with detectable CPL can be obtained by using tetrahydrofuran as a good solvent for the self-assembly, which is attributed to the involvement of the terminal group in the chiral environment formed by the homopolypeptide chains. However, such a chiral packing mode cannot be realized in nanorods self-assembled from dioxane, resulting in an inactive CPL phenomenon. Furthermore, CPL signals can be greatly amplified by co-assembly of homopolypeptides with the achiral small molecule derived from the terminal group. This work not only provides a pathway to construct aqueous CPL-active homopolypeptide nanomaterials but also reveals a potential mechanism in the self-assembly for chiral production, transfer, and amplification in polypeptide-based nanostructures.

Secondary structures in synthetic polypeptides from N-carboxyanhydrides: design, modulation, association, and material applications

This article highlights the conformation-specific properties and functions of synthetic polypeptides derived from N-carboxyanhydrides.

Folding Cooperativity of Synthetic Polypeptides with or without "Tertiary" Interactions

Model-based studies on helix-coil transition and folding cooperativity of synthetic polypeptides have contributed to the understanding of protein folding and stability and to the development of polypeptide-based functional materials. Polypeptide-containing macromolecules with complex architectures, however, remain a challenge in the model-based analysis. Herein, a modified Schellman-Zimm-Bragg model has been utilized to quantitatively analyze the folding cooperativity of polypeptide-containing macromolecules. While the helix-coil transition of homopolypeptides (e.g., poly(ε-benzyloxycarbonyl-l-lysine) (PZLL)) can be described by the classic model, the folding of grafted polypeptide chains in the comb macromolecules (e.g., polynorbornene-g-poly(ε-benzyloxycarbonyl-l-lysine) (PN-g-PZLL)) cannot be accurately predicted by the existing theories, due to the side-chain interactions between grafted polypeptides in the comb macromolecules. Incorporating nonlocal interaction explicability into the statistical mechanics treatment is found to be instructive to account for the possible "tertiary" interactions of polypeptides in the macromolecules with complex architectures.

Revisiting the Helical Cooperativity of Synthetic Polypeptides in Solution

Using synthetic polypeptides as a model system, the theories of helix-coil transition were developed into one of the most beautiful and fruitful subjects in macromolecular science. The classic models proposed by Schellman and Zimm-Bragg more than 50 years ago, differ in the assumption on whether the configuration of multiple helical sequences separated by random coil sections is allowed in a longer polypeptide chain. Zimm also calculated the critical chain lengths that facilitate such interrupted helices in different solvent conditions. The experimental validation of Zimm's prediction, however, was not carefully examined at that time. Herein, we synthesize a series of homopolypeptide samples with different lengths, to systematically examine their helix-coil transition and folding cooperativity in solution. We find that for longer chains, polypeptides do exist as interrupted helices with scattered coil sections even in helicogenic solvent conditions, as predicted in the Zimm-Bragg model. The critical chain lengths that facilitate such interrupted helices, however, are substantially smaller than Zimm's original estimation. The inaccuracy is in part due to an approximation that Zimm made in simplifying the calculation. But more importantly, we find there exist intramolecular interactions between different structural segments in the longer polypeptides, which are not considered in the classic helix-coil theories. As such, even the Zimm-Bragg model in its exact form cannot fully describe the transition behavior and folding cooperativity of longer polypeptides. The results suggest that long "all-helix" chains may be much less prevalent in solution than previously imagined, and a revised theory is required to accurately account for the helix-coil transition of the longer chains with potential "non-local" intramolecular interactions.

Homochiral columns constructed by chiral self-sorting during supramolecular helical organization of hat-shaped molecules

A library of dendronized cyclotriveratrylene (CTV) crowns substituted with chiral, racemic, or achiral peripheral alkyl chains, including enantiopure R and S branched alkyls, "racemic by mixture", "racemic by synthesis", n-octyl, and n-dodecyl groups was synthesized. In solvophobic solvents and in bulk they self-assemble in helical columns. Their solution and bulk shape-persistent supramolecular structures were determined by a complementary combination of circular dichroism (CD) and UV in solution and thin film, microspot CD in thin film, differential scanning calorimetry combined with fiber X-ray diffraction, computer simulation, and molecular models. In solution, self-assembly via a cooperative mechanism generates single-handed columns from enantiopure CTVs and mixtures of right- and left-handed columns from racemic by mixture, racemic by synthesis, other combinations of R and S, and even from achiral compounds. In bulk state all supramolecular columns form a 3D hexagonal crystalline phase, Φ(h)(k) (P6₃ symmetry), that can be obtained only from single-handed columns and a columnar hexagonal 2D liquid crystal, Φ(h). The highest order Φ(h)(k) consists of enantiopure single-handed columns that are slightly distorted 12-fold triple helices. The "hat-shaped" dendronized CTV assembles in bent-branch pine-tree columns that allow interdigitation of alkyl groups in adjacent columns regardless of their direction. Enantiomerically rich, racemic, and achiral compositions undergo deracemization in the crystal state by transfer of the transient disc-like conformer of dendronized CTV from column to column during crown inversion. Solid state NMR experiments identified motional processes that allow such transfer. This unprecedented supramolecular chiral self-sorting will impact the creation of functions in complex systems.

Solid-state NMR in macromolecular systems: insights on how molecular entities move

The function of synthetic and natural macromolecularsystems critically depends on the packing and dynamics of the individual components of a given system. Not only can solid-state NMR provide structural information with atomic resolution, but it can also provide a way to characterize the amplitude and time scales of motions over broad ranges of length and time. These movements include molecular dynamics, rotational and translational motions of the building blocks, and also the motion of the functional species themselves, such as protons or ions. This Account examines solid-state NMR methods for correlating dynamics and function in a variety of chemical systems. In the early days, scientists thought that the rotationalmotions reflected the geometry of the moving entities. They described these phenomena as jumps about well-defined axes, such as phenyl flips, even in amorphous polymers. Later, they realized that conformational transitions in macromolecules happen in a much more complex way. Because the individual entities do not rotate around well-defined axes, they require much less space. Only recently researchers have appreciated the relative importance of large angle fluctuations of polymers over rotational jumps. Researchers have long considered that cooperative motions might be at work, yet only recently they have clearly detected these motions by NMR in macromolecular and supramolecular systems. In correlations of dynamics and function, local motions do not always provide the mechanism of long-range transport. This idea holds true in ion conduction but also applies to chain transport in polymer melts and semicrystalline polymers. Similar chain motions and ion transport likewise occur in functional biopolymers, systems where solid-state NMR studies are also performed. In polymer science, researchers have appreciated the unique information on molecular dynamics available from advanced solid-state NMR at times, where their colleagues in the biomacromolecular sciences have emphasized structure. By contrast, following X-ray crystallographers, researchers studying proteins using solution NMR introduced the combination of NMR with computer simulation before that became common practice in solid-state NMR. Today's simulation methods can handle partially ordered or even disordered systems common in synthetic polymers. Thus, the multitechnique approaches employed in NMR of synthetic and biological macromolecules have converged. Therefore, this Account will be relevant to both researchers studying synthetic macromolecular and supramolecular systems and those studying biological complexes.

pH-Switchable ampholytic supramolecular copolymers

β-sheet-encoded anionic and cationic dendritic peptide amphiphiles form supramolecular copolymers when self-assembled in a 1:1 feed ratio of the monomers. These ampholytic materials have been designed for on-off polymerization in response to pH triggers. The cooperative supramolecular self-assembly process is switched on at a physiologically relevant pH value and can be switched off by increasing or decreasing the pH value.

Vertically aligned multilayer films of monodispersed helical polypeptides with micrometer thickness via simple cast

Utilizing the zwitterionic alpha-helix peptide bearing a cationic and anionic group at the N- and C-terminus, respectively, we first demonstrated that the vertically aligned multilayer film can be prepared by a simple cast and slow evaporation. The tilt angle of the peptide remained unchanged with ca. 30 degrees in the range between submicrometer and several micrometers in thickness. The key designs allowing simple vertical alignment of the helical peptide multilayer films were (i) monodispersity of the peptide, (ii) electrostatic interaction between anionic substrate and the cationic group bearing at the N-terminus of the peptide, and (iii) interlayer electrostatic interaction among terminal groups of the peptide.