Department of Life and Environmental Sciences, Polytechnic University of Marche, Via Brecce Bianche, 60131 Ancona, Italy.
Molecules. 2020 Jul 18;25(14):3276. doi: 10.3390/molecules25143276.
Different classes of foldamers, which are synthetic oligomers that adopt well-defined conformations in solution, have been the subject of extensive studies devoted to the elucidation of the forces driving their secondary structures and their potential as bioactive molecules. Regardless of the backbone type (peptidic or abiotic), the most important features of foldamers are the high stability, easy predictability and tunability of their folding, as well as the possibility to endow them with enhanced biological functions, with respect to their natural counterparts, by the correct choice of monomers. Foldamers have also recently started playing a starring role in the self-assembly of higher-order structures. In this review, selected articles will be analyzed to show the striking number of self-assemblies obtained for foldamers with different backbones, which will be analyzed in order of increasing complexity. Starting from the simplest self-associations in solution (e.g., dimers of β-strands or helices, bundles, interpenetrating double and multiple helices), the formation of monolayers, vesicles, fibers, and eventually nanostructured solid tridimensional morphologies will be subsequently described. The experimental techniques used in the structural investigation, and in the determination of the driving forces and mechanisms underlying the self-assemblies, will be systematically reported. Where applicable, examples of biomimetic self-assembled foldamers and their interactions with biological components will be described.
不同类别的折叠聚合物，即采用溶液中确定构象的合成低聚物，一直是广泛研究的主题，旨在阐明驱动其二级结构的力及其作为生物活性分子的潜力。无论骨架类型（肽或非生物）如何，折叠聚合物最重要的特征是其折叠的高稳定性、易于预测性和可调性，以及通过正确选择单体赋予它们增强的生物功能的可能性，相对于它们的天然对应物。折叠聚合物最近也开始在高级结构的自组装中扮演主角。在这篇综述中，将分析选定的文章，以展示具有不同骨架的折叠聚合物获得的惊人数量的自组装，这些自组装将按复杂程度递增的顺序进行分析。从最简单的溶液中的自缔合（例如β-折叠或螺旋的二聚体、束、相互贯穿的双螺旋和多螺旋）开始，将随后描述单层、囊泡、纤维，最终是纳米结构的三维形态。将系统报告用于结构研究以及确定自组装的驱动力和机制的实验技术。在适用的情况下，将描述具有仿生自组装的折叠聚合物及其与生物成分的相互作用的示例。
