title: Biocatalytic Pathway Selection in Transient Tripeptide Nanostructures.
abstract: Structural adaption in living systems is achieved by competing catalytic pathways that drive assembly and disassembly of molecular components under the influence of chemical fuels. We report on a simple mimic of such a system that displays transient, sequence-dependent formation of supramolecular nanostructures based on biocatalytic formation and hydrolysis of self-assembling tripeptides. The systems are catalyzed by α-chymotrypsin and driven by hydrolysis of dipeptide aspartyl-phenylalanine-methyl ester (the sweetener aspartame, DF-OMe). We observed switch-like pathway selection, with the kinetics and consequent lifetime of transient nanostructures controlled by the peptide sequence. In direct competition, kinetic (rather than thermodynamic) component selection is observed.
authors.affiliation: WestCHEM/Department of Pure and Applied Chemistry, University of Strathclyde, 295 Cathedral Street, Glasgow G1 1XL (UK).|Advanced Science Research Centre (ASRC), City University of New York, 85 St Nicholas Terrace, New York, NY, 10031 (USA).
authors.forename: Charalampos G
authors.initials: CG
authors.lastname: Pappas
authors.affiliation: WestCHEM/Department of Pure and Applied Chemistry, University of Strathclyde, 295 Cathedral Street, Glasgow G1 1XL (UK).
authors.forename: Ivan R
authors.initials: IR
authors.lastname: Sasselli
authors.affiliation: WestCHEM/Department of Pure and Applied Chemistry, University of Strathclyde, 295 Cathedral Street, Glasgow G1 1XL (UK). rein.ulijn@strath.ac.uk, rein.ulijn@asrc.cuny.edu.|Advanced Science Research Centre (ASRC), City University of New York, 85 St Nicholas Terrace, New York, NY, 10031 (USA). rein.ulijn@strath.ac.uk, rein.ulijn@asrc.cuny.edu.
authors.forename: Rein V
authors.initials: RV
authors.lastname: Ulijn
mesh_terms: D055162:Biocatalysis; D020136:Hydrogel, Polyethylene Glycol Dimethacrylate; D049329:Nanostructures / Q000737:chemistry*; D010455:Peptides / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D010455:Peptides; D020136:Hydrogel, Polyethylene Glycol Dimethacrylate
keywords: biocatalysis; hydrogel; nanostructures; peptides; self-assembly