Helix triangle: Unique peptide-based molecular architecture

We here report a unique cyclic peptide structure, "helix triangle", as a unique example of peptide-based molecular architecture. The cyclic peptide is designed to have a triangular shape in which three 9mer helical peptide units make the sides and three pyrene derivatives make the apexes. The helical peptide units are ideally linear, and the pyrene units are ideal 60 angular components. The yield of the cyclic peptide was relatively high despite its large cycle size. Absorption and fluorescence spectroscopy revealed that the three pyrene units do not interact with each other electronically, and circular dichroism spectroscopy indicated that the helical peptide units take 3(10)-helical conformation. Geometry optimization by the semi-empirical molecular orbital method gave a triangular structure with 3(10)-helices as the plausible molecular structure. To gain more information on the geometry and demonstrate one example of its self-assemblies, the monolayer of the cyclic peptide was prepared at the air/water interface, and its surface pressure-molecular area isotherm was studied. The isotherm indicated formation of a stable monolayer and suggested that the cyclic peptide actually takes the triangular structure predicted by the geometry optimization. The monolayer was then transferred onto a substrate and characterized by various methods. Ellipsometry and infrared reflection-absorption spectroscopy confirmed that the cyclic peptide has horizontal orientation to the surface in the monolayer. Furthermore, absorption and fluorescence spectroscopy showed that the isolated electronic properties of the pyrene units are intact even in a condensed state in the monolayer.