Bioactive Amphiphilic Peptide Derivatives with pH Triggered Morphology and Structure

A series of bioactive amphiphilic peptide derivatives that contain the RGD (Arg-Gly-Asp) sequence have been designed and prepared by the standard solid-phase peptide synthesis (SPPS) technique. The influence of the molecular structure and pH change on the morphology of the amphiphilic peptide derivatives in aqueous solution is investigated. The results reveal that the amphiphilic peptide derivatives with different molecular structures exhibit different self-assembly behavior in response to environmental changes. Furthermore, by adjusting the pH, the molecular interactions of amphiphilic peptide derivatives are tuned, which results in a morphology change.