Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Tripeptides attached to (R,R)-1,2-diaminocyclohexanes self-assemble into tubular superstructures in which each peptide strand folds over and under the other, reminiscent of Spartacus's folded arms, with the same sense of chirality! Thus is born a new class of non-cyclic "self-embracing" peptides held together by intra- and interstrand H-bonds.