The Brønsted/Lewis acid synergy in dealuminated HY zeolite has been studied using solid-state NMR and density function theory (DFT) calculation. The 1H double quantum magic-angle spinning (DQ-MAS) NMR results have revealed, for the first time, the detailed spatial proximities of Lewis and Brønsted acid sites. The results from 13C NMR of adsorbed acetone as well as DFT calculation demonstrated that the Brønsted/Lewis acid synergy considerably enhanced the Brønsted acid strength of dealuminated HY zeolite. Two types of Brønsted acid sites (with enhanced acidity) in close proximity to extra-framework aluminum (EFAL) species were identified in the dealuminated HY zeolite. The NMR and DFT calculation results further revealed the detailed structures of EFAL species and the mechanism of Brønsted/Lewis acid synergy. Extra-framework Al(OH)3 and Al(OH)2+ species in the supercage cage and Al(OH)2+ species in the sodalite cage are the preferred Lewis acid sites. Moreover, it is the coordination of the EFAL species to the oxygen atom nearest the framework aluminum that leads to the enhanced acidity of dealuminated HY zeolite though there is no direct interaction (such as the hydrogen-bonding) between the EFAL species and the Brønsted acid sites. All these findings are expected to be important in understanding the roles of Lewis acid and its synergy with the Brønsted acid in numerous zeolite-mediated hydrocarbon reactions.

Cell-penetrating peptides (CPPs) are small cationic peptides that cross the cell membrane while carrying macromolecular cargoes. We use solid-state NMR to investigate the structure and lipid interaction of two cationic residues, Arg 10 and Lys 13 , in the CPP penetratin. 13 C chemical shifts indicate that Arg 10 adopts a rigid β-strand conformation in the liquid-crystalline state of anionic lipid membranes. This behavior contrasts with all other residues observed so far in this peptide, which adopt a dynamic β-turn conformation with coil-like chemical shifts at physiological temperature. Low-temperature 13 C-31 P distances between the peptide and the lipid phosphates indicate that both the Arg 10 guanidinium Cζ and the Lys 13 Cε lie in close proximity to the lipid 31 P (4.0 -4.2 Å), proving the existence of charge-charge interaction for both Arg 10 and Lys 13 in the gel-phase membrane. However, since lysine substitution in CPPs are known to reduce their translocation ability, we propose that low temperature stabilizes both lysine and arginine interactions with the phosphates, whereas at high temperature the lysine-phosphate interaction is much weaker than the argininephosphate interaction. This is supported by the unusually high rigidity of the Arg 10 sidechain and its β-strand conformation at high temperature. The latter is proposed to be important for ion pair formation by allowing close approach of the lipid headgroups to guanidinium sidechains. 19 F and 13 C spin diffusion experiments indicate that penetratin is oligomerized into β-sheets in gel-phase membranes. These solid-state NMR data indicate that guanidinium-phosphate interactions exist in penetratin, and guanidinium groups play a stronger structural role than ammonium groups in the lipid-assisted translocation of CPPs across liquid-crystalline cell membranes. Keywordscell-penetrating peptide; lipid bilayer; guanidinium-phosphate interaction; 13 C-31 P REDOR; arginine; lysine Cell-penetrating peptides (CPP) are arginine-and lysine-rich cationic peptides that can readily enter cells not only by themselves but also carrying other macromolecular cargos (1-3). Thus they are promising drug-delivery molecules. Many studies have established that the intracellular entry of CPPs is related to their strong affinity to lipid bilayers (4). The lipid *Corresponding author: Mei Hong, Department of Chemistry, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011. Tel: 515-294-3521, Fax: 515-294-0105, E-mail: mhong@iastate.edu. Supporting information available 13 C chemical shift assignments of Arg 10 -labeled penetratin in POPC/POPG membranes and RMSD analyses of REDOR data are provided. This supplemental material is free of charge online at http://pubs.acs.org. NIH Public Access Author ManuscriptBiochemistry. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2010 June 2. membrane can be the plasma membrane of the cell or the endosomal membrane from which CPPs must escape after endocytosis (5). The fundamental biophysical question of interest is how these highly cationic peptides cross th...

The presence of amyloid plaques composed of amyloid beta (Aβ) fibrils is a hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). The Aβ peptide is present as several length variants with two common alloforms consisting of 40 and 42 amino acids, denoted Aβ1–40 and Aβ1–42, respectively. While there have been numerous reports that structurally characterize fibrils of Aβ1–40, very little is known about the structure of amyloid fibrils of Aβ1–42, which are considered the more toxic alloform involved in AD. We have prepared isotopically 13C/15N labeled AβM01–42 fibrils in vitro from recombinant protein and examined their 13C–13C and 13C–15N magic angle spinning (MAS) NMR spectra. In contrast to several other studies of Aβ fibrils, we observe spectra with excellent resolution and a single set of chemical shifts, suggesting the presence of a single fibril morphology. We report the initial structural characterization of AβM01–42 fibrils utilizing 13C and 15N shift assignments of 38 of the 43 residues, including the backbone and side chains, obtained through a series of cross-polarization based 2D and 3D 13C–13C, 13C–15N MAS NMR experiments for rigid residues along with J-based 2D TOBSY experiments for dynamic residues. We find that the first ∼5 residues are dynamic and most efficiently detected in a J-based TOBSY spectrum. In contrast, residues 16–42 are easily observed in cross-polarization experiments and most likely form the amyloid core. Calculation of ψ and φ dihedral angles from the chemical shift assignments indicate that 4 β-strands are present in the fibril’s secondary structure.

Many membrane peptides and protein domains contain functionally important cationic Arg and Lys residues, whose insertion into the hydrophobic interior of the lipid bilayer encounters significant energy barriers. To understand how these cationic molecules overcome the free energy barrier to insert into the lipid membrane, we have used solid-state NMR spectroscopy to determine the membrane-bound topology of these peptides. A versatile array of solid-state NMR experiments now readily yields the conformation, dynamics, orientation, depth of insertion, and site-specific protein-lipid interactions of these molecules. We summarize key findings of several Arg-rich membrane peptides, including b-sheet antimicrobial peptides, unstructured cell-penetrating peptides, and the voltage-sensing helix of voltage-gated potassium channels. Our results indicate the central role of guanidinium-phosphate and guanidinium-water interactions in dictating the structural topology of these cationic molecules in the lipid membrane, which in turn account for the mechanisms of this functionally diverse class of membrane peptides.