The influence of molecular characteristics on the mutual interaction between peptides and nonionic surfactants has been investigated by studying the effects of surfactants on amphiphilic, random copolymers of alpha-L-amino acids containing lysine residues as the hydrophilic parts. The hydrophobic residues were either phenylalanine or tyrosine. The peptide-surfactant interactions were studied by means of circular dichroism spectroscopy and binding isotherms, as well as by 1D and 2D NMR. The binding of surfactant to the peptides was found to be a cooperative process, appearing at surfactant concentrations just below the critical micellar concentration. However, a certain degree of peptide hydrophobicity is necessary to obtain an interaction with nonionic surfactant. When this prerequisite is fulfilled, the peptide mainly interacts with self-assembled, micelle-like surfactant aggregates formed onto the peptide chain. Therefore, the peptide-surfactant complex is best described in terms of a necklace model, with the peptide interacting primarily with the palisade region of the micelles via its hydrophobic side chains. The interaction yields an increased amount of alpha-helix conformation in the peptide. Surfactants that combine small headgroups with a propensity to form small, nearly spherical micelles were shown to give the largest increase in alpha-helix content.

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Understanding of peptide aggregation propensity is an important aspect in pharmaceutical development of peptide drugs. In this work, methodologies based on all-atom molecular dynamics (AA-MD) simulations and 1 H NMR (in neat H 2 O) were evaluated as tools for identification and investigation of peptide aggregation. A series of structurally similar, pharmaceutically relevant peptides with known differences in aggregation behavior (D-Phe 6 -GnRH, ozarelix, cetrorelix, and degarelix) were investigated. The 1 H NMR methodology was used to systematically investigate variations in aggregation with peptide concentration and time. Results show that 1 H NMR can be used to detect the presence of coexisting classes of aggregates and the inclusion or exclusion of counterions in peptide aggregates. Interestingly, results suggest that the acetate counterions are included in aggregates of ozarelix and cetrorelix but not in aggregates of degarelix. The peptides investigated in AA-MD simulations (D-Phe 6 -GnRH, ozarelix, and cetrorelix) showed the same rank order of aggregation propensity as in the NMR experiments. The AA-MD simulations also provided molecular-level insights into aggregation dynamics, aggregation pathways, and the influence of different structural elements on peptide aggregation propensity and intermolecular interactions within the aggregates. Taken together, the findings from this study illustrate that 1 H NMR and AA-MD simulations can be useful, complementary tools in early evaluation of aggregation propensity and formulation development for peptide drugs.

The influence of subphase characteristics (ionic strength, pH, and the presence of bridging cations) on the conformation and lateral orientation of the hydrophobic polypeptide poly-l-leucine (p-leu) has been investigated at the air−water interface with the surface film balance technique as well as with Brewster angle microscopy (BAM). In addition, Langmuir−Blodgett films of p-leu deposited on quartz and mica from different subphases have been studied by circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy and atomic force microscopy (AFM). P-leu forms α-helices at the interface regardless of subphase characteristics. Long-range lateral orientation of the α-helical strands in the p-leu monolayer was obtained under conditions where attractive interpeptide end-group interactions prevail. These interactions were obtained under conditions where (1) end-group charges lend a zwitterionic character to the peptide, thus enabling strong electrostatic attraction between adjacent strands, (2) there is a possibility for formation of carboxylic acid dimers, or (3) calcium bridges form between carboxylate end groups. These three cases correspond to an increase of the effective molecular mass of the peptide. It was concluded that such an increase, and thereby an increased long-range lateral orientation, can be obtained by enabling peptide end group attraction, but not by screening peptide end group repulsion. Kinetic studies of monolayer relaxation strongly suggest that the end-group effects influence the thermodynamic, as well as the kinetic, properties of peptide monolayers.