Design and Synthesis of a,g-Peptide Nanotubes

Manuel Amorín, Cecilia Gayoso and Juan R. Granja

Departamento de Química Orgánica e Unidade Asociada ó C.S.I.C., Facultade de Química, Universidade de Santiago, 15782 Santiago de Compostela

In recent years, considerable effort has been devoted to the synthesis of organic and inorganic nanotubes. Self-assembling peptide nanotubes (SPN) made from cyclic D,L-a-peptides or from cyclic b-peptides have structural and functional properties that may be suitable for various applications in biology and materials science. We will describe a new member of self-assembling peptides based on hybrid of a,g-cyclic peptides that has a novel structural and internal cavity, demonstrating SPN synthesis with hybrid systems. We will present the structural features and thermodynamics of the self-assembling process, established by NMR, FT-IR, MS and X-ray crystallography.