Mechanism of stabilization of helix secondary structure by constrained Cα-tetrasubstituted α-amino acids

Irene Maffucci, Sara Pellegrino, Jonathan Clayden, Alessandro Contini*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticle (Academic Journal)peer-review

26 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The theoretical basis behind the ability of constrained Cα-tetrasubstituted amino acids (CTAAs) to induce stable helical conformations has been studied through Replica Exchange Molecular Dynamics Potential of Mean Force Quantum Theory of Atoms In Molecules calculations on Ac-L-Ala-CTAA-L-Ala-Aib-L -Ala-NHMe peptide models. We found that the origin of helix stabilization by CTAAs can be ascribed to at least two complementary mechanisms limiting the backbone conformational freedom: steric hindrance predominantly in the (+ x,+y,-z) sector of a right-handed 3D Cartesian space, where the z axis coincides with the helical axis and the Cα of the CTAA lies on the +y axis (0,+y,0), and the establishment of additional and relatively strong C-H⋯O interactions involving the CTAA. (Chemical Equation Presented).

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1350-1361
Number of pages12
JournalJournal of Physical Chemistry B
Volume119
Issue number4
Early online date12 Jan 2015
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 29 Jan 2015

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