Synthesis, Organization and Structural Studies of Peptide Motifs Interacting with Membrane Systems

Proteins in biological membranes represent up to 30% of all proteins in sequenced genomes. While certain membrane proteins are functional as monomers others need to assemble into oligomeric structures to carry out their biochemical role. Due to the complexity and dynamics of these interactions, they are often hardly traceable and nearly impossible to predict. For this respect, peptide model systems provide a valuable tool in studying membrane associated processes, since they are synthetically accessible and can be readily modified. Herein, the design and synthesis of peptide/peptide nucleic acid (PNA) conjugates as well as their functional analyses in lipid complexes are reported. The respective species exhibit a high-affinity recognition in the membrane adjacent water layers prior to assembly of the transmembrane domains. Analytical studies of the novel model system include X-ray scattering and Förster resonance energy transfer assays.