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Folding of a single‐chain, information‐rich polypeptoid sequence into a highly ordered nanosheet
Author(s) -
Kudirka Romas,
Tran Helen,
Sanii Babak,
Nam Ki Tae,
Choi Philip H.,
Venkateswaran Neeraja,
Chen Ritchie,
Whitelam Stephen,
Zuckermann Ronald N.
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
peptide science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.556
H-Index - 125
eISSN - 1097-0282
pISSN - 0006-3525
DOI - 10.1002/bip.21590
Subject(s) - chemistry , nanosheet , polymer , sequence (biology) , folding (dsp implementation) , amphiphile , aqueous solution , molecule , acetonitrile , crystallography , nanotechnology , organic chemistry , materials science , copolymer , biochemistry , electrical engineering , engineering
The design and synthesis of protein‐like polymers is a fundamental challenge in materials science. A means to achieve this goal is to create synthetic polymers of defined sequence where all relevant folding information is incorporated into a single polymer strand. We present here the aqueous self‐assembly of peptoid polymers (N‐substituted glycines) into ultrathin, two‐dimensional highly ordered nanosheets, where all folding information is encoded into a single chain. The sequence designs enforce a two‐fold amphiphilic periodicity. Two sequences were considered: one with charged residues alternately positive and negative (alternating patterning), and one with charges segregated in positive and negative halves of the molecule (block patterning). Sheets form between pH 5 and 10 with the optimal conditions being pH 6 for the alternating sequence and pH 8 for the block sequence. Once assembled, the nanosheets remain stable between pH 6 and 10 with observed degradation beginning to occur below pH 6. The alternating charge nanosheets remain stable up to concentrations of 20% acetonitrile, whereas the block pattern displayed greater robustness remaining stable up to 30% acetonitrile. These observations are consistent with expectations based on considerations of the molecules' electrostatic interactions. This study represents an important step in the construction of abiotic materials founded on biological informatic and folding principles. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Biopolymers (Pept Sci) 96: 586–595, 2011.