Chemistry Letters, Vol.47, No.10, 1276-1278, 2018
Hydrophobic Association of a Side Chains Induces Reversible Helix Folding in a Dual Aromatic Ring Tagged Short Peptide
A short peptide having two naphthalene tags folds into a stable alpha-helix. The helix content of the peptide was 78%. The hydrophobic association of the naphthalene in the peptide was confirmed by its excimer fluorescence. When this hydrophobic association of the naphthalene was disturbed by forming inclusion complex with 2-hydroxypropy1-beta-cyclodextrin (HPCD), the helix content was reduced to 64%. The binding of naphthalene on the peptide with HPCD was confirmed by its fluorescence spectra. On the other hand this inclusion complex on naphthalene and HPCD was inhibited with 1-adamantanol, the helix content of the peptide was completely recovered to 78%. The dual naphthalene tagged peptide displayed reversible folding of the alpha-helix.