title: De novo design of a bolaamphiphilic peptide with only natural amino acids.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Nanobiomedical Technology and Membrane Biology, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Feng
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Qiu
authors.forename: Yongzhu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Chengkang
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.forename: Qinghan
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: Chen
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Ying-Kang
authors.initials: YK
authors.lastname: Shi
authors.forename: Xiaojun
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhao
mesh_terms: 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*
chemical_list: D000596:Amino Acids; D010455:Peptides; D013501:Surface-Active Agents; D008239:Lysine; D000409:Alanine