De novo design of a bolaamphiphilic peptide with only natural amino acids.
A new self-assembling bolaamphiphilic peptide has been designed and synthesized using only natural amino acids. This simple peptide is composed of two lysines connected by 4-8 alanines to maintain the characteristics of the traditional bolaamphiphiles. Based on an irregular secondary structure, it can self-assemble into nanospheres, nanorods, or nanofibers with lengths up to micrometers. The long nanofibers can be broken into smaller fragments by sonication, however, they could reassemble into nanofibers after incubation. Furthermore, the nanostructures were shown to have considerable thermostability. This new bolaamphiphilic peptide differs from any other self-assembling peptides or bolaamphiphiles, and possibly provides a new approach to fabricate nanomaterials.
Qiu
Feng
F
Institute for Nanobiomedical Technology and Membrane Biology, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, P. R. China.
Chen
Yongzhu
Y
Tang
Chengkang
C
Zhou
Qinghan
Q
Wang
Chen
C
Shi
Ying-Kang
YK
Zhao
Xiaojun
X
D000409:Alanine; D000596:Amino Acids / Q000737:chemistry; D008239:Lysine; D049329:Nanostructures / Q000737:chemistry*; D010455:Peptides / Q000138:chemical synthesis* / Q000737:chemistry; D017433:Protein Structure, Secondary; D013501:Surface-Active Agents / Q000138:chemical synthesis*
D000596:Amino Acids; D010455:Peptides; D013501:Surface-Active Agents; D008239:Lysine; D000409:Alanine