title: Molecular spacers for physicochemical investigations based on novel helical and extended peptide structures.
abstract: A proper understanding of the detailed nature and mechanism of physicochemical interactions depends heavily upon our ability to design and synthesize conformationally constrained 3D structures whose intercomponent geometry (either rigorously rigid or able to undergo destructuration, if required, but in all cases precisely tunable) would be well defined. To this end we have recently reported a few initial studies and we are currently working on the exploitation of stable, short, helical peptide spacers based on achiral and/or chiral Calpha-tetrasubstituted alpha-amino acids. These building blocks are known to force the peptides either to predominantly fold into a 3(10)-helical structure or to adopt a fully extended, planar 2.0(5)-helix. The systems under investigation involve a donor and an acceptor moiety linked to the N- and C-termini of the oligopeptide spacer main chain. By increasing the number of intervening residues the donor.acceptor separation can be easily modulated. This review highlights details of these two novel peptide secondary structures and their use as molecular spacers in physicochemical investigations.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biomolecular Chemistry, CNR, Department of Organic Chemistry, University of Padova, 35131 Padova, Italy. claudio.toniolo@unipd.it
authors.forename: Claudio
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Toniolo
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Crisma
authors.forename: Fernando
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Formaggio
authors.forename: Cristina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Peggion
authors.forename: Quirinus B
authors.initials: QB
authors.lastname: Broxterman
authors.forename: Bernard
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Kaptein
mesh_terms: D018360:Crystallography, X-Ray; D006860:Hydrogen Bonding; D008958:Models, Molecular; D010455:Peptides / Q000737:chemistry*; D017433:Protein Structure, Secondary; D013050:Spectrometry, Fluorescence; D013237:Stereoisomerism
chemical_list: D010455:Peptides