Peptoids - Synthesis, Characterization, And Nanostructures

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Seo J., Lee B.-C., and Zuckermann R.N. (2011) Peptoids: Synthesis, Characterization, and Nanostructures. In: P. Ducheyne, K.E. Healy, D.W. Hutmacher, D.W. Grainger,

C.J. Kirkpatrick (eds.) Comprehensive Biomaterials, vol. 2, pp. 53-76 Elsevier.

2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

2.204. Peptoids: Synthesis, Characterization, and NanostructuresJ Seo, Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology, Gwangju, Republic of KoreaB-C Lee, Genentech Inc., South San Francisco, CA, USAR N Zuckermann, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, USA

2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

2.204.1. Introduction 542.204.1.1. Bioinspired Polymers 542.204.1.2. Properties of Peptoids as Useful Biomaterials 552.204.2. Synthesis 552.204.2.1. Solid-Phase Synthesis 552.204.2.2. Solution-Phase Synthesis 562.204.2.3. Other Methods for Peptoid Synthesis 572.204.3. Peptoid Structure and Characterization 572.204.3.1. Peptoid Secondary Structures: Helices and Turns 572.204.3.2. Noncovalent Local Interactions in Peptoids 582.204.3.3. Cyclic Peptoids 582.204.3.4. Computational Modeling 582.204.3.5. Protein-Like Structures and Functions 582.204.3.6. Peptoid Self-Assembly: Nanostructures 602.204.4. Combinatorial Discovery of Peptoid Ligands 602.204.4.1. Synthesis Technologies 612.204.4.1.1. Automated synthesis 612.204.4.1.2. Parallel synthesis 612.204.4.1.3. SPOT synthesis 612.204.4.1.4. Split/mix synthesis 612.204.4.2. Analytical Methods 622.204.4.2.1. Separations 622.204.4.2.2. Characterization 622.204.4.3. Screening Methods 632.204.5. Drug Discovery 642.204.5.1. Protein Receptor Ligands 642.204.5.1.1. Proteinprotein interaction inhibitors 642.204.5.1.2. Receptor ligands 652.204.5.2. Nucleic Acid Binders 662.204.5.3. Antimicrobial Agents 662.204.5.4. Lung Surfactants 682.204.5.5. Peptoid Pharmacology 692.204.6. Cellular Delivery/Uptake Vectors 702.204.6.1. Cell-Penetrating Peptoids 702.204.6.2. Lipitoids for Cellular Delivery of Nucleic Acids 712.204.7. Biomimetic Materials 712.204.7.1. Collagen Mimicry 712.204.7.2. Antifouling Agents 712.204.7.3. Glycopeptoids 732.204.7.4. Other Applications 732.204.7.4.1. Enantioselective catalysts 732.204.8. Summary and Future Directions 74References 74

GlossaryAntifouling agent An antifouling agent preventsundesirable accumulation of microorganisms on wettedsurfaces.

Antimicrobial peptoids Antimicrobial peptoids aredesigned to mimic antimicrobial peptides. Typicalantimicrobial peptoids are cationic and faciallyamphipathic.

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Comprehensive Biomaterials (2011), vol. 2, pp. 53-76

Chemoselectivity Chemoselectivity refers to the selectivereactivity of one functional group in the presence of others.Foldamer A polymer or an oligomer that adopts asecondary structure stabilized by noncovalent interactions.Glycopeptoids Glycopeptoids are peptoids that containcarbohydrate moieties covalently attached to the side chainsof the peptoid residues.Heteropolymers A polymer comprising two or moremonomers that are different from one another is calledheteropolymer.Lipitoids Conjugates of cationic lipids and peptoids arecalled lipitoids.Peptidomimetics A peptidomimetic is a compoundthat is designed to mimic a biologically active peptide, buthas structural differences that give advantages for itsfunction.

Peptoid A class of peptidomimetic polymers, whose sidechains are appended to the nitrogen atom of the peptidebackbone rather than to the a-carbon. They are also calledpoly(N-substituted glycines).Peptoid helix Peptoids fold into helical secondarystructures by the incorporation of bulky chiral side chains.Unlike peptide helices, peptoid helices result from therepeating local steric influence of the side chain whichrestricts backbone rotation.Peptoid nanosheet Amphiphilic periodic peptoids self-assemble to form well-defined 2D sheet architecture. Thefree-floating sheets have a thickness of 2.7 nm.Submonomer synthesis An efficient solid-phase synthesismethod to generate peptoids from simple starting materials.Instead of using monomers, two submonomers aresuccessively incorporated to form a monomer unit.

AbbreviationAMP Antimicrobial peptideApaf Apoptotic protease activating factorBoc N-tert-butoxycarbonylBSL-2 Biosafety level 2CD Circular dichroismCE Capillary electrophoresisCPP Cell-penetrating peptidesDIC N,N0-diisopropylcarbodiimideDMF N,N-dimethylformamideDMPE Dimyristoyl phosphatidyl-ethanolamineDOPA 3,4-DihydroxyphenylalanineEPM Equimolar peptide mixturesFmoc FluorenylmethyloxycarbonylGlcNAc N-acetylglucosamineGPCR G-protein coupled receptorHDM Human double minuteHPLC High performance liquid chromatographyHTS High-throughput screeningHyp HydroxyprolineIC50 Half maximal inhibitory concentrationKd Dissociation constantLC Liquid chromatographyMAOS Microwave-assisted organic synthesisMBNL Muscleblind proteinMeNPOC (R,S)-1-[3,4-[methylene-dioxy]-

6-nitrophenyl]ethyl chloroformateMHC Major histocompatibility complexMIC Minimal inhibitory concentration

MS Mass spectrometryNaOAc Sodium acetateNCA N-substituted carboxyanhydridesNHC N-heterocyclic carbenesNLeu N-isobutylglycineNLys N-(4-aminobutyl)glycineNMDA N-methyl-D-aspartateNme (orNmeg)

N-(2-methoxyethyl)glycine

NMR Nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopyNspe (S)-N-(1-phenylethyl)glycineOBOC One-bead-one-compoundPITC PhenylisothiocyanatePMC 2,2,5,7,8-Pentamethylchromane-6-sulfonylPTC PhenylisocyanatePyBOP Benzotriazol-1-yloxytris(pyrrolidino)

phosphonium hexafluorophosphatePyBrOP Bromotris(pyrrolidino)phosphonium

hexafluorophosphateQD Quantum dotROP Ring opening polymerizationSDS Sodium dodecyl sulfateSH3 SRC (sarcoma) homology 3SP Surfactant proteinsTEMPO 2,2,6,6-Tetramethylpiperidine-1-oxylTM TransmembraneUPLC Ultra performance liquid chromatographyVEGFR Vascular endothelial growth factor receptorVR Vanilloid receptor

2.204.1. Introduction

2.204.1.1. Bioinspired Polymers

Sequence-specific heteropolymers are growing in importanceas useful tools in chemical biology, drug discovery/delivery,and materials science. Recent advances in synthetic chemistryhave made it possible to generate relatively simple protein-like

structures and functions from nonbiological synthetic hetero-polymers. Many of these synthetic heteropolymers are stable tobiological proteases and extreme environments such as hightemperatures and harsh chemical conditions. Further, they canbe assembled in high yields from relatively cheap buildingblocks. Proteins are marginally stable; they are easily degradedby biological proteases and denatured by various chemicals

54 Biologically Inspired and Biomolecular Materials and Interfaces



and high temperatures. Thus, there is a great opportunity todevelop a new class of proteinmimetic polymers that arecapable of molecular recognition and catalysis and yet arehighly robust to the environment. The unusual stability prop-erties and synthetic versatility of synthetic sequence-specificheteropolymers provide great promise for such materials andwill have great impact in therapeutic, diagnostic, and materialsscience applications.

Researchers are making progress toward creating syntheticpolymers that mimic the sophisticated structures and functionsof proteins, although no synthetic polymer currently has thecapacity to perform complex biological functions such as selec-tive molecular recognition, catalysis, transport, energy conver-sion, etc. It has been difficult to find a single polymer system inwhich one can achieve stable secondary structures, sequencediversity, and long main chain lengths. It has been only thepast decade since researchers have begun to mimic protein-liketertiary structures and functions.

The creation of new synthetic heteropolymers has beeninspired and guided by protein folding and design principles.Advances in synthetic, combinatorial, and physical chemistryhave provided a variety of useful tools to create foldedproteinmimetic polymers where a variety of functionalizedmonomers can be arranged in a particular sequence. However,despite decades of study, the rules that govern the kinetics andthermodynamics of folding polymer chains into stable tertiarystructures are not yet fully understood. Energetically, the dom-inant forces that drive folding of polymer chains in aqueoussolution are well known,1 and this has been useful for thedesign of new foldable polymer sequences. Still it has beendifficult to understand the atomic structural details of themolecular interactions that drive unique and stable tertiarystructures. Synthetic heteropolymers that allow detailed con-trol of molecular interactions would help to understand fold-ing principles on an entirely new level.

This chapter will focus on peptoids (N-substituted glycinepolymers), one of several in the class of sequence-specificsynthetic heteropolymers. Readers can find many comprehen-sive reviews regarding other synthetic heteropolymers.24 Eversince peptoids first found utility in drug discovery,5 many newareas of peptoid research have recently emerged as a result oftheir many useful properties. New structural motifs and designprinciples have emerged. Peptoids offer great new opportu-nities to create protein-like tertiary structures and functions.Peptoid polymers that spontaneously organize into well-defined supramolecular nanostructures are a promising newplatform in materials science.

2.204.1.2. Properties of Peptoids as Useful Biomaterials

Peptoids are N-substituted glycine polymers in which the sidechains are appended to the backbone nitrogen (Figure 1). ThisN-substitution in peptoids precludes the intra-backbonehydrogen bonding that is found in proteins, providing us theopportunity to explore polymer properties and chain foldingin the absence of backbone hydrogen bonding.

Peptoids are efficiently synthesized using a solid-phasesynthesis. Using the solid-phase submonomer method thatwe developed, 48-mer polypeptoids have been synthesized inexcellent yields.6 In terms of sequence diversity, over 300

primary amines are currently available that can be incorpo-rated into peptoids as side chains. Thus, the diversity of peptoidside chains is much greater than that found in proteins.

Peptoids as short as 5-mers have been shown to adopt helicalconformations when they contain chiral side chains adjacentto the main chain nitrogen.7,8 These peptoid helical structuresshowed extreme stability to chemical denaturants and tempera-ture.9 The peptoids have been also shown to be stable to prote-olysis,10,11 opening the door to therapeutic, diagnostic, andbiomaterials applications. Numerous short peptoid oligomershave been found that bind to therapeutically relevant proteins,acting as antagonists, inhibitors, or activators.12 In this chapter,many of these useful features and examples will be discussed.

2.204.2. Synthesis

2.204.2.1. Solid-Phase Synthesis

Originally standard peptide solid-phase synthesis techniqueswere utilized for peptoid synthesis using Fmoc-protectedN-substituted glycine monomers (Figure 2(b)).5 This mono-meric method involves tertiary amide bond formationbetween the existing secondary amine on the resin and theincoming monomer by the activation of carboxyl group inthe monomer using benzotriazol-1-yloxytris(pyrrolidino)phosphonium hexafluorophosphate (PyBOP) or bromotris(pyrrolidino)phosphonium hexafluorophosphate (PyBroP).Then, the Fmoc group is deprotected with piperidine, gener-ating a secondary amine for next amide coupling. This mono-meric peptoid synthesis requires labor-intensive synthesis ofFmoc-protected N-substituted glycine monomers.

The invention of the submonomer solid-phase synthesismethod for peptoids in 1992 was amajor breakthrough becauseit greatly increased the synthetic efficiency, synthesis yields, andavailable side chain diversity, while also dramatically reducingtime and costs.6 As shown in Figure 2(a), a secondary amine onthe resin is first acylated by an activated haloacetic acid, such asbromoacetic acid, with N,N-diisopropylcarbodiimide (DIC).Then the bromine is displaced by a primary amine. In this SN2reaction, !300 commercially available primary amines canbe added, expanding the diversity and convenience of introdu-cing side chains. Moreover, many new submonomers havebeen synthesized and incorporated into peptoids. Theseinclude N-BOC-tryptamine, O-t-butyl tyramine, and PMC-guanidino-propylamine to mimic natural amino acids tryp-tophan, tyrosine, and arginine.13 In addition, carboxamide,carboxylic acid, and thiol derivatives of (S)-1-phenylethylamine

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Figure 1 The comparision of (a) peptide and (b) peptoid.

Peptoids: Synthesis, Characterization, and Nanostructures 55



were synthesized to introduce a helical structure decorated withchemical functionalities.14 A variety of chemoselective conjuga-tion groups such as thiol, activated disulfides, aldehyde, ami-nooxy, and hydrazine groups have been also incorporatedinto peptoids via N- and C-terminal modification or the submo-nomer method that allowed an efficient ligation betweenpeptoids.15 Recently, amine derivatives of heterocycles suchas histamine, pyridine and tryptamine were successfully incor-porated into peptoids using chloroacetic acid in the acylationstep.16 Conformationally constrained cyclic peptoids can also besynthesized using the submonomer method, followed by solu-tion-phase cyclization.17 The submonomer synthesis is stillwidely used for peptoid synthesis.

2.204.2.2. Solution-Phase Synthesis

There are a couple of methods for making peptoids completelyin solution as shown in Figure 2(c). So far, the lengths of

sequences made by this method are limited to

2.204.2.3. Other Methods for Peptoid Synthesis

Amine-initiated ring-opening polymerization (ROP) hasbeen utilized to synthesize high molecular weight peptoidmacrocycles (Figure 2(e)).22 N-heterocyclic carbenes (NHCs)mediate ROP of cyclic substrates N-substituted carboxyanhy-drides (NR-NCA) through a zwitterionic propagating speciesand yield cyclic peptoid polymers in a controlled and efficientmanner. This method is limited to single type of side chains inthe peptoid polymers. In addition to this ROP, poly b-peptoidshad been produced by the polymerization reaction of aziri-dines and carbon monoxide.23,24

The submonomer method of peptoid synthesis had beenadapted for photolithographic application (Figure 2(f)).25

A four-step monomer addition cycle was developed for thephotolithographic synthesis of peptoids. Glycolic acid pro-tected with a light-sensitive protecting group (MeNPOC) wasfirst coupled to an amine-modified surface. The hydroxylgroup was unmasked by UV irradiation and then activatedwith tosyl chloride. Finally, the tosylate was displaced with aprimary amine to complete the construction of a monomerunit. This chemistry allows the spatially addressable synthesisof peptoids on an array by photolithography, since hydroxylgroup unmasking, activation, and amine displacement willoccur only at addresses that have been irradiated with UV light.

To our surprise, peptoid polymers have also been synthe-sized on a small scale using biosynthetic machinery. An E. colicell-free translation system was used with genetically codedmRNA and artificial tRNAs charged with peptoid monomersas shown in Figure 2(g).26 In this translation system, certainproteinogenic amino acids and/or cognate aminoacyl-tRNAsynthetases are withdrawn (withdrawn PURE system; wPURE),diminishing the competing background incorporation of theproteinogenic amino acids in the translation elongation event.They prepared a wide variety of tRNAs charged with nonpro-teinogenic peptoid monomers using artificial tRNA acylationribozymes. Using this method, six peptoid monomers weretranslated from the genetic code and purified.

2.204.3. Peptoid Structure and Characterization

2.204.3.1. Peptoid Secondary Structures: Helices and Turns

As we learned from biological polymers, efficient functions arederived from well-defined structures. One of the key strategiesto forming well-defined, atomically ordered folded polypep-toids is to control the local secondary structure. Control overlocal and global molecular interactions can reduce the confor-mational freedom of the polymer chain resulting in orderedstates in aqueous environment. Borrowing from naturesdesign principles found in proteins, many synthetic polymersystems have been developed to create proteinmimetic mate-rials. However, most synthetic sequence-specific polymers arerelatively short in main chain length, due to synthetic ineffi-ciencies. Still, with relatively short chain lengths, many specificprotein ligands have been developed. Longer sequences havebeen used for antifouling materials, antimicrobial agents, lungsurfactant mimetics, drug delivery vehicles and protein mim-icry. However, it is still in infancy to create protein-like struc-tures and functions in purely nonbiological polymers.

A number of proteins fold up sequentially from initial sec-ondary structures to well-defined tertiary structures. Thus, oneof the methods toward unique tertiary structures in nonbiolog-ical polymers would be first to create secondary structures andthen, engineer them further to assemble in three-dimension(3D). In peptoids, we have been using this sequential strategy,aiming toward unique 3D peptoid structures (Figure 3).

Like the secondary structures in proteins, helices and turnshave been generated in peptoids. Peptoid helical structures arewell established and exhibit extreme chemical and thermal sta-bility.9 Intrinsically, the peptoid backbone is more flexible thanthe peptide backbone due to the lack of hydrogen bond donorsand main chain chirality. However, a bulky chiral side chainappended to the Na position in peptoids significantly reducesthe conformational freedomof the chain backbone and inducedwell-defined helical structures with three residues per turn(Figure 3).7 The peptoid helical structures have been character-ized by a range of high-resolution techniques, such as 2D-NMR,X-ray crystallography, and computational modeling.2729 Thestructural parameters including backbone f and c angles andthe distance between two helical pitches showed that the pep-toid helical structures given by a-chiral steric bulk resemble thepolyproline type-I helical structure in peptides. Because of thesteric hindrance given by the bulky chirality at the Na position,the backbone f angle is limited to a certain range of angles toprevent the steric clash with nearby backbone carbonyl groups.This molecular steric hindrance in peptoids allows even smallpentamer peptoids to form stable helical structures with extremechemical and thermal stability. The peptoid helical structureswere stable to 8M urea and to 75 oC.9

The turn structures in peptoids are recently generated, butnot well established comparing to the helices. A series of tripep-toids containing either N-methylglycine or N-isobutylglycine inposition i 1/i 2 were synthesized and tested for intramolec-ularly H-bonded b-turn formation in chloroform solution.30

The population of the type-II b-turn increased when theyincorporated the achiral peptoids at the position i 2. Towardthe b-turn mimic, geometrically constrained triazole ring had

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Figure 3 Schematic diagram for a hierarchical approach towardcreating a tertiary structure in peptoids from local to global interactions.The local interactions include the formation of secondary structures suchas helices and turns, and the tunable interactions such as n!p*interaction. The hydrophobic interaction has been utilized as a foldingcore of peptoid helix bundles.




been introduced into peptoids as a monomer unit, stabilizing aturn in the middle of linear peptoids. This triazole motif mim-icked the b-hairpin structures in peptides.31

2.204.3.2. Noncovalent Local Interactions in Peptoids

Several types of noncovalent interactions have been found,3235

expanding significantly the scope of peptoid design and theutility of peptoids for a broad range of applications. Theseinteractions stabilize peptoid secondary structures further andcan even switch the conformation, depending on the environ-ment such as pH and solvent.

Hydrophobic interactions and n!p* interactions havebeen shown to play a role in peptoid folding.32,36,37 The con-formation of the secondary structures could be tunableby these noncovalent interactions. For example, the rotamericcis to trans equilibria of the backbone amides could be con-trolled by n!p*, steric, and hydrogen bonding interactions(Figure 3).32,34 Especially, cis-amides in the peptoid backbonecould be exclusively formed by N-R-chiral acetanilide andN-1-naphthylethyl side chains, by n!p*CO/hydrogen bond-ing interactions and n!p*Ar/steric interactions, respectively.34The pair interaction of fluoroaromatic and other electron-deficient aromatic side chain in pepoids could be an effectivestrategy for controlling peptoid structures.33

The rotameric cis to trans equilibrium of the backboneamides could be also dependent on the nearby amides in thebackbone. Using NMR, the kinetics of cis to trans equilibriumof the backbone amides could be measured in monomers,di- and tri-peptoids38 with a range of rate constants from0.03 to 0.37 s$1. These findings would be useful for under-standing the transition between different conformations anddeveloping an accurate force field in peptoids.

Previously, a threaded loop structure was found in peptoidsby well-defined local interactions.39 This structure is uniqueto peptoid nonamers with achiral side chains and was firstidentified in a homononamer of Nspe. The threaded loopstructure is stabilized by three intramolecular hydrogenbonds from backbone carbonyl groups (residues 5, 7, and 9)to the N-terminal secondary ammonium, and one intramolec-ular hydrogen bond from a backbone carbonyl (residue 2) tothe C-terminal primary amide. The peptoid threaded loopcontains four cis and four trans amide bonds. Interestingly,methanol was able to disrupt the set of intramolecular hydro-gen bonds, converting the threaded loop to helical structure.

L-phenylalanine tert-butyl ester had been utilized for thesynthesis of (S)-N-(1-carboxy-2-phenylethyl)glycine oligo-mers.35 These peptoids formed stable secondary structures inaqueous solution in which the conformation is dramaticallyresponsive to variations in pH and solvent composition. Theelectrostatic interaction between monomer units was responsi-ble for this pH-dependent conformational switch.

2.204.3.3. Cyclic Peptoids

Cyclization of the linear polymer chains has been developedover the past few decades as an effort to find an efficient methodfor conformational ordering.40 This type of confined structuresvia cyclization provides a useful platform for high-affinity mo-lecular recognition due to the gain of the entropic term in

thermodynamic binding free energy. Head-to-tail macrocycliza-tion was estabilished in peptoids, allowing the enhancement ofthe conformational ordering and the crystallization of cyclicpeptoid hexamer and octamer.17 The high-resolution crystalstructures of these cyclic peptoids revealed that the peptoidbackbone could accommodate tight turns via distorted cis andtrans amide conformers in the solid state.17 This head-to-tailmacrocyclization have been utilized recently for useful alkalimetal ion transporters.41

Another macrocyclization have been also established inpeptoids via chemical linkages of side chains. Especially, theazide-alkyne cycloaddition was used widely in peptoids formacrocyclization.4244 Amide coupling through side chainswas also developed45,46 and employed further for cyclic pep-toid arrays.45

2.204.3.4. Computational Modeling

Computational modeling of biological molecules has beenadvanced significantly in the past decade, providing a very usefultool for predicting secondary and tertiary structures in proteinsand nucleic acids. This success was made possible due to thedevelopment of super-computing power and more accurateforce fields in amino acids and nucleotides than ever, and thedatabase of protein and nucleic acid structures. The computa-tional tools are now being applied to many other nonbiologicalsynthetic heteropolymers as an aid for the design of new mole-cules. However, accurate force fields are required for the successof design and understanding of synthetic heteropolymers. Thereare a number of computational studies in peptoids to guide ustoward more accurate models of peptoid structures.27,28,4750

The recent high-level quantum mechanics simulation had agood agreement with available peptoid atomic-detail structuresas shown in the Ramachandran plot of peptoid backbone fversus c angle (Figure 4).48 This simulation revealed that localenergetics dictates the conformational preference in peptoids.48

Distance geometry and ensemble calculations have beencarried out using the distance information from NMR data inorder to refine the peptoid helical structures and understandthe amide backbone trans to cis isomerism.28,50 The trans con-formation of the backbone amide is generally not preferred inpeptoids due to the N-substitution.38 Quantum mechanical abinitio calculations have been applied for this problem.47,48

Although the angle of the amide backbone depends on theside chains, it is not fully understood yet about the determin-ing factors of this amide backbone trans to cis isomerism. Theaccurate force field of peptoids is necessary for understandingthis problem.

In order to understand the folding cooperativity in peptoidhelix bundles, a dynamic programming approach was carriedout using statistical mechanical partition functions of foldamerchain molecules.51 This model showed that the peptoid three-helix bundle fold anticooperatively and predicts that two-helixbundles are unstable in proteins but stable in peptoids.

2.204.3.5. Protein-Like Structures and Functions

One of the ultimate goals in the area of bioinspired heteropo-lymers is to create precisely folded nanostructures with protein-like functions. There have been recent efforts to construct




synthetic polymers that mimic protein properties. Although ithas been difficult to achieve stable secondary structures, amultiletter alphabet, and long chain lengths within a singletype of polymer, our group has been able to create helixbundle structures with hydrophobic folding cores and intro-duce one of the simplest biological functions such as high-affinity zinc binding into peptoid two-helix bundles.36,37 Theadvancement of synthetic technologies and design principleswould enable us to create more complicated protein-like struc-tures and functions.

The helix bundle was the first target toward tertiary struc-tures in peptoids because the helical secondary structures arewell established in peptoids. One of the key strategies forgenerating protein-like helix bundles was utilizing amphiphilicself-assembled peptoid helical structures.52 The hydrophobicgroups at every third position allow the amphilicity of peptoidhelices and provide a stable hydrophobic folding core inside

self-assembled helix bundles. The combinatorial chemistry hadbeen carried out to identify amphiphilic peptoid helices thathave a well-defined hydrophobic core.52 Using these peptoidhelices, single-chain folded helix bundles had been created byorthogonal chemoselective conjugations between peptoid heli-ces. By three consecutive conjugations, a 12 kDa peptoid four-helix bundle had been created previously.37

To mimic protein-like functions, our group was able tointroduce high-affinity zinc-binding site into the peptoid two-helix bundles.36 Borrowing from well-understood zinc-bindingmotifs in proteins, thiol and imidazole moieties were posi-tioned within the peptoid two-helix bundles such that bothhelices must align in close proximity to form a binding site.Certain peptoid two-helix bundles bind zinc with nanomolaraffinities and high selectivity compared to other divalent metalions. This work is a significant step toward generating protein-like structures and functions.

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Figure 4 Ramachandran plot of peptoid backbone phi vs. psi angels revealed by a recent high-level quantum mechanical simulation. Monomericpeptoids, Ac-Nme-N(CH3)2 (a and b) and Ac-Nspe-N(CH3)2 (c and d) were calculated by the quantum mechanical calculation at theB3LYP/6-311G(2d,p)//HF/6-31G* level. The backbone o is cis at the left plots (a and c), and trans at the right plots (b, d). Squares are correspondingexperimental residues from crystal structures. Nme and Nspe stand for N-(methoxyethyl)glycine and (S)-N-(1-phenylethyl)glycine, respectively.Adapted from Butterfoss, G. L.; Renfrew, P. D.; Kuhlman, B.; Kirshenbaum, K.; Bonneau, R. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2009, 131, 1679816807, withpermission from American Chemical Society.




2.204.3.6. Peptoid Self-Assembly: Nanostructures

Polypeptoids are a unique material that allows not only themimicry of proteins, but the precise engineering of polymers.Sequence level control and the ability to synthesize relativelyhigh molecular weights have resulted in a number of interest-ing applications. The nanoscale self-assembly of polymericpeptoid materials is an area of tremendous potential, as thefields of protein folding and polymer self-assembly becomeever closer. Peptoid polymers have been studied as bulk solidsand shown to have improved process ability over polypeptides.Recently, certain sequences of peptoids showed their ability toform nanoribbon/tapes and 2D floating sheets in aqueoussolution,5355 gaining their potentials for useful nanostruc-tured materials.

A series of peptoid homopolymers were studied withrespect to their thermal properties as bulk solids.56 Many ofthese sequences form crystalline phases with discrete meltingtemperatures. Interestingly, a comparison was made between apolypeptide and a perfectly analogous polypeptoid (i.e., every-thing in the structure was identical except for the point of sidechain attachment). The peptoid was found to exhibit a revers-ible melting transition at modest temperatures, whereas thecorresponding peptide did not melt all the way up to itsdecomposition temperature. This suggests that the lack ofhydrogen bonding in polypeptoids is an important featurethat may contribute to improved processability in the bulk.

During the development of a novel class of peptoid b-sheetbreaker as amyloid inhibitors, a retro-peptoid sequence cor-responding to the amyloidogenic peptide sequences amylin,SNNFGAILSS, was found to form the supramolecularnanoribbon/tape structures.53 Due to the formation of thisself-assembled peptoid nanostructures, this retro-peptoid wasnot efficient to inhibit the amyloid formation of amylin, butprovided a useful nanostructure.

Recently, our group systematically explored the impact ofamphiphilic sequence patterns in the self-assembly of peptoidpolymers, and we discovered one of the largest 2D organiccrystals known. Remarkably well-defined 2D free-floating pep-toid nanosheets formed spontaneously in aqueous solutionafter mixing a 1:1 ratio of two oppositely charged peptoid36-mers of a specific sequence.54 A repeating, alternatingsequence pattern of a polar ionic monomer followed by anonpolar aromatic monomer was key to formation of thesheet architecture. These giant free-floating sheets were shownto have a bilayer structure (i.e., two molecules thick) andhave a thickness of only 2.7 nm, yet a width and length oftens of microns (Figure 5). The unprecedented direct imagingof individual peptoid chains was made possible by the recentdevelopment of aberration-corrected transmission electronmicroscopy (TEAM 0.5) at the National Center for ElectronMicroscopy, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Directobservation of individual polymer chains revealed that thepeptoid chains are fully extended in structure and run parallelto one of the sheet edges. Further, the chainchain spacing of4.5 A could be directly imaged, which corresponded well to thespacings observed by X-ray and electron diffraction experiments.It was further demonstrated that the peptoid nanosheets couldbe functionalized with biologically active ligands and that theycould specifically bind their protein target with high specificity.

Importantly, this is the first demonstration that biologicalsequence information (a beta-sheet-like alternating sequence)can be introduced into a synthetic polymer to generate anatomically defined biomimetic structure. Interestingly, becausethe peptoids are achiral, these peptoid nanosheets arecompletely flat, in contrast to peptidic beta sheets, which havean inherent twist in their structure that is a result of the aminoacid chirality. Thus, the synthetic flexibility and biocompatibil-ity of peptoids provide a flexible and robust platform for inte-grating functionality into defined nanostructures.

2.204.4. Combinatorial Discovery of Peptoid Ligands

Molecular diversity as a source of potential drug candidates,proteinmimetics, and various other functional materials hasbeen of enormous interest. Combinatorial library synthesisprovides an efficient route to achieve great molecular diversityand has been extensively used both in academic and industrialresearch.12 Inspired by natures intrinsic molecular diversityprovided by biopolymers (i.e., proteins), researchers at ChironCorp, now part of Novartis AG, pursued new drug discoverytechnologies employing a peptoid combinatorial library plat-form.5 The invention of the solid-phase submonomer synthe-sis methods facilitated the library synthesis and enabledpeptoids to be an ideal class of molecules for combinatoriallibrary synthesis. First, the solid-phase peptoid synthesis allowsthe resin-splitting methods, which are crucial for mix-and-splittype combinatorial library synthesis where equimolar com-pound mixtures can be synthesized. Second, each residueincorporation step is composed of highly efficient bromoace-tylation and amine displacement reactions. These reactionsprovide high yields and are not sensitive to air and moisture;therefore, the chemistry is automatable. Third, due to theavailability of a number of peptoid submonomers as pri-mary amines, a wide variety of chemical functionalities canbe incorporated. These favorable aspects of peptoids for com-binatorial library synthesis along with the availability ofstate-of-the-art lab automation instruments, the synthesisof millions of peptoids now became a straightforward pro-cess. In addition, the ability to screen and analyze peptoids

Figure 5 Free-floating nanosheets can be formed by the self-assemblyof two oppositely charged peptoid 36-mers of a specific sequencepattern. The peptoid sequence is a repeat of an alternating sequence of apolar ionic monomer and a nonpolar aromatic monomer. The peptoidnanosheets consist of a bilayer, which is

rapidly and inexpensively from the libraries has been aprimary tool in modern peptoid research.

2.204.4.1. Synthesis Technologies

2.204.4.1.1. Automated synthesisSolid-phase synthesis techniques have been introduced in theearly 1960s by Bruce Merrifield, a Nobel laureate in 1984, andhave been applied to biopolymer synthesis including peptides,oligonucleotides, nonnatural peptides, and oligosaccharides.In the case of peptide synthesis, the key steps of the syntheticcycle, namely deprotection and coupling, are repeated untilthe complete sequence is assembled on the solid matrix. After-ward, the crude product is cleaved from the support, purified,and characterized.57 Nowadays the synthesis of peptides is fullyautomated and routinely performed on automated synthe-sizers. Because the peptoid monomer addition cycle is alsotwo steps, peptoid synthesis can be carried out by most com-mercial peptide synthesizers with only a few minor program-ming changes.58 In the automated synthesis of peptoids, aminesolutions are placed in the amino acid reservoirs. Dependingon the synthesizers specification, (1)many samples are handledin parallel (up to !30 wells) on a typical scale of 0.1mmol perwell; or (2) one-bead-one-compound (OBOC) peptoid librariesof tens to hundreds of thousands of compounds can be synthe-sized using an automated resin mix-and-split step.59,60

2.204.4.1.2. Parallel synthesisIn parallel synthesis, each library member is synthesized in aseparate reaction vessel. For the synthesis of 16 peptoid dimers,16% 2 cycles of peptoid monomer unit incorporation isrequired. For the same number of peptoid dimer synthesis, amix-and-split method needs only 8 cycles and is well suited fora large size library synthesis to cover larger chemical space.61

However, the advantages of the parallel synthesis are that theentities in the library are known and that a large amount ofpeptoid can be prepared in each reaction vessel. A libraryprepared by the mix-and-split method often requires addi-tional deconvolution or encoding steps to identify peptoidon a specific resin.

Microwave-assisted organic synthesis (MAOS) was originallydeveloped for simple organic transformations such as hydroly-sis. Then the technique has been successfully applied to thesynthesis of peptides, peptidomimetics, and carbohydrates.62

The microwave irradiation for peptoid library synthesis hasbeen reported and has shown advantages in terms of bothhigher purity and dramatically shorter reaction time.63,64 Theoptimal conditions for the bromoacetylation step involved irra-diation for 30 s and heating to 35 &C using temperature controlprobe, and for the amine displacement, irradiation for 90s andheating to 95 &C again using the temperature control (at roomtemperature, typical reaction time for bromoacetylation is20min and for amine displacement is 60min). The MAOS isbeing used actively in the preparation of peptoid library synthe-sis either in the parallel synthesis or in the mix-and-split librarysynthesis.

2.204.4.1.3. SPOT synthesisThe SPOT synthesis technique employs the parallel synthesismethod mentioned above, but the difference is that the

synthesis is carried out directly on a cellulose membrane ratherthan on resin beads in a reaction vessel.65 The SPOT methodfollows the standard peptoid submonomer synthesis protocol:preparation and functionalization of the cellulose membrane,stepwise bromoacetylation and amine displacement, andcleavage of the side chain protecting groups. If necessary, pep-toids can be cleaved from the cellulose membrane by the in-corporation of appropriate linkers between the membrane andthe peptoid. Peptoid synthesis on cellulose allows the parallelsynthesis of large numbers of positionally addressable pep-toids in small quantities, and the cost of SPOT synthesis is farcheaper than that of conventional resin-based synthesis.

Wenschuh et al. first reported the SPOT synthesis ofpeptomers (peptidepeptoid hybrids) and peptoids.6668

They used Whatman 50 cellulose membranes and modi-fied by treatment with epibromohydrin and 4,7,10-trioxa-1,13-tridecanediamine to provide homogeneous terminalprimary amines on the cellulose membrane. Slight modifica-tion on conventional peptoid submonomer protocol wasemployed by using bromoacetic acid 2,4-dinitrophenyl esterinstead of commonly used bromoacetic acid/DIC, and selec-tive bromoacetylation on the terminal secondary amines overresidual hydroxyl groups on cellulose was achieved. For thedry state cleavage of peptoids, the authors used a photo-labilelinker system to cleave membrane-bound peptoids via UVirradiation. The peptoid SPOT array consisting of 8000 pep-toids and peptomers are screened for the monoclonal anti-body Tab-2, and micromolar affinity ligands were identifieddemonstrating the potential utility of this method for therapid identification of novel nonpeptidic protein ligands.

2.204.4.1.4. Split/mix synthesisIn the early 1990s, the OBOC combinatorial library methodwas first introduced by Lam and coworkers.69,70 With theOBOC library technique, tens of thousands to millions ofcompound beads could be rapidly prepared and then screenedfor a specific biological activity. For the synthesis of OBOClibraries, a mix-and-split synthesis method is utilized such thateach bead displays only one compound.71 Originally, Lamet al. developed the OBOC library technique for the synthesisof short linear peptides. Afterwards, led by Zuckermann andKodadek, the application of the technique was expanded to thepreparation of the peptoid libraries.58,72

Prior to the library synthesis, the size of the library includ-ing the length of the oligomer and the number of aminesubmonomers must be considered. If nothing is knownabout the target protein, diverse sets of amines are used. How-ever, the information about the target-binding site can helpdesign the library and significantly reduce the number ofamine submonomers to be used. Typically, 630 amine sub-monomers are used to conveniently prepare an OBOC library.The scale of the library synthesis depends on the amount ofmaterial needed for screening. Generally, for the synthesisof peptoid trimer library, 2.4mmol of resin is used, yieldingabout 1ml of each of 24 pools, each at a concentration of100mMper compound. This quantity is sufficient for hundredsof screens when screened at 1mM per compound.

In 1992, Zuckermann and coworkers introduced a fullyautomated peptoid synthesis protocol that is capable of syn-thesizing equimolar peptide mixtures (EPM).59 Equimolarity




was achieved by employing the resin-splitting method, namelyisopycnic slurry method, where the resin was suspended asslurry in a solvent system that had a similar density to resin,causing the resin particles to settle very slowly. The authorssuspended a polystyrene resin (100200 mesh and 1% cross-link with divinylbenzene) as a 3% w/v free-flowing slurry in65% 1,2-dichloroethane/DMF. The resin slurry was then trans-ferred by a robotic pipet hand into separate reaction vessels (upto 36). When short peptides/peptoids were synthesized, theequimolarity of the library was well maintained after repeatedsplit-and-pool processes. With the automated EPM synthesizeron hand, the authors prepared !5000 peptoid dimers andtrimers to identify high-affinity ligands for 7TM/GPCR (seeSection 2.204.5.1 for further discussions).73 In this work, iter-ative deconvolution method was successfully employed for thestructural determination of the peptoid hits. This method isbased on an iterative process of screening and resynthesis ofsmaller sublibraries in an attempt to fractionate a mixture intoits most active constituents. Popularized by Houghten et al.,71

iterative deconvolution has been used as a screening method toidentify hits from non-OBOC libraries.

2.204.4.2. Analytical Methods

2.204.4.2.1. SeparationsIn combinatorial chemistry, a vast number of diverse com-pounds are generated by robotic instruments; for example,thousands of compounds can be synthesized daily. Due tothe increase in the rate of compounds synthesized, the demandfor rapid analysis and characterization of the library is high.For separation purposes, widely used analytical instrumentsare LC/MS (liquid chromatograpy/mass spectrometry), HPLC(high performance liquid chromatography), andmore recentlyUPLC (ultra performance liquid chromatography). Typically,liquid chromatography separations are carried out on a reversephase mode; C18 or C4 supports are used as stationary phase,and water/acetonitrile gradients are eluted as mobile phase.Technical advances in this field have enabled high-resolutionseparations of mixtures and high sensitivity detection of com-pounds in small quantity.

One active area of investigation is in the development ofcapillary electrophoresis (CE). CE is designed to separate spe-cies based on their size to charge ratio in the interior of a smallcapillary filled with a matrix. The advantages of CE are therequirement of small sample quantity and the wide variety ofseparation mechanisms modulated by types of matrices and bymobile phase solutions. The superior separation efficiency ofCE makes it a powerful tool for many of the analytical chal-lenges in biopharmaceutical research.

Lunte and coworkers evaluated the utility of the CE tech-nique for the separation of a combinatorially synthesizedpeptoid mixture.74,75 The mixture consisted of 24 trimericpeptoids that ranged in molar mass from 392 to 699 withpKa values ranging from 3 to 10. With reverse phase HPLC,separation of this mixture posed a significant challenge. Hence,the authors used a fused-silica capillary electrophoresis andsurveyed different types of mobile phase buffers and additivesfor efficient separation. Significantly enhanced separation wasachieved when they used a combination of heptane sulfonicacid (25mM) and methyl-b-cyclodextrin (40mgml$1) in

250mM sodium phosphate buffer at pH 2.0. As for theadditives, heptane sulfonic acid was used as an ion-pairingagent to reduce hydrophobic intramolecular interactions andto disrupt electrostatic interactions with the capillary wall, andmethyl-b-cyclodextrin was used to provide hostguest interac-tions and resolve very hydrophobic components of the peptoidmixture. Later the authors reported the use of SDS micellesin conjunction withmethyl-b-cyclodextrin, and the additives inthe same sodium phosphate buffer (pH 2.0) provided dra-matic improvement in the separation of the peptoid mixture.

Lunte and coworkers demonstrated the potential advan-tages of CE over conventional HPLC for the analysis of com-plex peptoid mixtures. Only nanoliters of sample are injectedfor each analysis, and this offers tremendous benefit whenextremely small amounts of sample are available as is typicalwith OBOC combinatorial chemistry.

2.204.4.2.2. CharacterizationNumerous techniques have been applied for the characteriza-tion of combinatorial libraries. For libraries prepared by paral-lel synthesis, all compounds in the library are addressedindividually, and characterization process is relatively straight-forward. However, evaluation of libraries prepared by mix-and-split synthesis is much more challenging. Taking intoaccount that an OBOC library is composed of individualbeads containing unique chemical entities, the first approachto characterize the mix-and-split library is to analyze the indi-vidual beads. This approach is often limited because each beadcontains only a picomolar quantity of a compound; therefore,highly sensitive analytical methods have to be used. Generally,the methods of choice are mass spectrometry, microsequen-cing and amino acid analysis. Sensitivity of modern automaticmicrosequencers is greatly improved and allows the characteri-zation of the small quantity of compound on a single bead.Sequencing based on Edman degradation can be combinedwith mass spectrometry, and evaluation of mixtures generatedby the degradation using mixture of phenylisothiocyanate(PITC) and phenylisocyanate (PTC) can be performed. Theuse of PTC does not cleave the N-terminal amino acid: thisamino acid is capped and the resulting phenylcarbamoylpeptide (or peptoid) resists further degradation. Repeatedcycles of this procedure provide a mixture of peptide (orpeptoid) fragments differing by a single peptoid monomerunit, which can be characterized by mass spectrometry. Forpeptoid Edman degradation, Kodadek et al. noted the impor-tance of a strong denaturing wash (with hot 1% SDS buffer)of peptoid beads prior to sequencing; this step eliminatedany undesirable interference of bound proteins on sequenc-ing reactions. With minor modifications, peptoid Edmansequencing protocol was well established using a standardpeptide sequencer.72,76

Using the Edman degradation, peptide/peptoid structurescan be determined directly on resin without being cleaved;however, only 34 peptides/peptoids can be sequenced eachday with an automated sequencer.69,77,78 Analysis of unnaturalamino acids by Edman degradation is especially slow becauseit requires the synthesis and analysis of standards for eachunnatural residue.78 Mass spectrometry (MS) offers both highsensitivity and speed for characterizing peptoid combinatoriallibrary. Tandem MS (or MS/MS) has been routinely used for




the sequence determination of peptides, and this techniquewas shown to be readily applicable to analyze peptoids.79,80

Zuckermann and coworkers developed a method for therapid identification of sequence of hit compounds fromOBOCpeptoid libraries.81 They used a cleavable hydrophilic linker toreduce nonspecific binding to biological samples and allowsfor the attachment of a halogen tag, which facilitates postscre-ening sequencing by tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS). Thelinker is based on a tartaric acid unit and produces a C-terminalaldehyde upon cleavage from resin. Then the aldehyde can bederivatized with a bromine-containing aminooxy compoundthat serves as an isotope tag for subsequent MS/MS analysis.The authors showed a number of peptoids can by synthesizedusing the linker and demonstrated very low levels of nonspe-cific binding to proteins in a bead screening and sequencingstep. Another strategy for rapid and robust sequencing of pep-toids and peptomers from OBOC libraries was developed byPei and coworkers.82 In this strategy, beads were subjected tomultiple cycles of partial Edman degradation by treatmentwith a 1:3 molar mixture of phenyl isothiocyanate (PITC)and 9-fluorenylmethyl chloroformate (Fmoc-Cl) to generate aseries of N-terminal truncation pruducts for each resin-boundpeptoids. After the partial Edman degradation step, the Fmocgroups were removed by piperidine treatment. The resultingmixture of the full-length peptoid and its truncation productswas analyzed by mass spectrometry, and the full-length pep-toid was sequenced. The authors showed this method was alsoreadily applicable to peptomers (peptidepeptoid hybrids).

2.204.4.3. Screening Methods

A reliable high-throughput assay is essential to successfullyscreen a combinatorial library. A systematic screening of diversecompound collections has proved to be a fruitful source of anumber of pharmaceutical lead compounds.83 For combinato-rial library screening, solid-phase and solution-phase assayshave been developed. In the solid-phase assays, the ligands arestill attached to the resin, and the assay involves either (1) directbinding of molecular target to the bead-attached ligand or (2)detection of functional properties of the bead-attached ligandsuch as identifying the activity of the ligand as a substrate to aprotein. Solution-phase assays require cleavage of ligands fromthe beads, and the ligands have to be spatially separated such asin 96-well plates.

In peptoid research, major advances in screening tech-nology have enabled combinatorial peptoid libraries to bemined quickly and inexpensively for specific protein binders.76

Kodadek and colleagues focused on the discovery of peptoidbinders for proteins, with the purpose of using the high-affinitybinders for the construction of protein-detecting microarrays.The primary approach they used was the OBOC peptoid libraryscreening. The screening was conducted by binding a fluores-cently-labeled target protein to the OBOC peptoid librarybeads. After trial and error to find an optimal system forpeptoid library screening, they found a Texas Red-labeled pro-tein to a library of tens to hundreds of thousands of peptoidsdisplayed on TentaGel beads worked well for their purpose.77

A visual examination and identification of the beads thatcontained peptoids and the Texas Red-labeled protein wereperformed under a fluorescent microscope, and the fluorescent

beads were isolated manually using a micropipette. Technicalimprovement was made to increase the visual contrast betweenhits and nonhits by employing a biotinylated protein anddetecting its binding to the bead by subsequent hybridizationwith a streptavidin-coated quantum dot. The intense signalfrom the quantum dot made it easier to distinguish hits fromnonhits (autofluorescent beads), and the sequence of the pep-toid on the bead was determined by Edman degradation andmass spectrometry. For the sequencing step after this on-beadscreening, bound proteins were stripped from the bead by thetreatment of 1% SDS solution, and the bead was subjected toan automated Edman sequencer. If peptoids are not attachedon beads, the sequence can be determined by tandem massspectrometry81 or partial Edman degradation and mass spec-trometry.82 Recently, Kodadek et al. reported a new beadscreening technique for the identification of specific peptoidligands for cell surface receptors.84 Because of the difficulty ofhandling membrane receptors (i.e., poor solubility and/or lackof stability when isolated), the standard screening methodsdeveloped for soluble proteins could not be easily employedfor membrane receptors. Therefore, cell-based assay techniqueshave been developed based on the use of live cells carryingtarget receptor.85 Kodadek et al. used a two-color, cell-basedscreening method to isolate peptoid hits to exhibit specificityfor a membrane protein, VEGFR-2 (vascular endothelial growthfactor receptor-2). They labeled cells lacking VEGFR-2 with agreen quantum dot (QD), and cells carrying VEGFR-2, but wereotherwise identical, were labeled with a red QD. The QDs didnot contaminate the cell surface because they were taken upinto cells by endocytosis. The cells were then incubated with!300000 OBOC beads displaying nonameric peptoids undercarefully controlled conditions to minimize nonspecific adhe-sion of cells to the beads. The binding of cells on beads werethen inspected under fluorescent microscope. Hundreds ofbeads were observed to bind both red and green cells implyingthat the peptoids were not specific ligands for VEGFR-2.Five beads bound only red cells, meaning that the peptoidswere likely to be specific VEGFR-2 ligands. Subsequent in vitroassay confirmed the five peptoids were specific ligands forVEGFR-2 with binding affinity of low-micromolar range.Later, the authors used the hits to develop peptoid antibodysurrogate with extremely high specificity toward VEGFR-2 (seeSection 2.204.5.1). Solution-phase assays, usually in the96-well plate format, have been used for synthetic compoundsor natural products that are added as a soluble form into eachindividual well for biological testing. In principle, all solution-phase biological assays including competitive receptor-bindingassays, antibacterial assays, and anticancer assays can be adaptedto combinatorial library screening. Because the numbers ofcompounds are enormous, the current screening strategy is touse miniaturized and automated solution-phase assay set-ups.Ligands are attached to the beads via cleavable linkers; then theligands are released from the each bead into solution phase, andthe biological assays are carried out. The released compoundsare subsequently identified (or sequenced).

Researchers have mimicked a biological event where thegenetic material encoding molecules with superior functionssurvives natural selection and propagates to next generations.Harbury and colleagues utilized the concept of evolutionarymechanism and DNA-programmed combinatorial chemistry to




prepare a large library of peptoids individually associated withspecific DNA sequences, enabling amplification of compoundhits.86 The authors adopted the bioinspired but completely abi-otic approach to prepare a collection of 100 million distinctpeptoids. The library was then subjected to a selection processfor binding to the N-terminal SH3 domain of the proto-onco-gene Crk, and novel ligands were discovered after six amplifica-tion steps. The hits bind to the protein tightly with affinitiessimilar to those of peptide SH3 ligands discovered from phagedisplay libraries.

2.204.5. Drug Discovery

In general, peptides possess distinctive advantages including(1) relatively straightforward synthesis and modification; (2)high affinity and specificity of peptides for different moleculartargets such as receptors, antigens, and enzymes; and (3) lowtoxicity relative to synthetic small molecules. However, peptidedrugs often exhibit poor oral bioavailability, a short plasmahalf-life, a potential for immunogenicity, and unfavorablepharmacokinetic profile; therefore, considerable effort hasbeen directed to the design and development of nonnaturalsurrogates for peptides. Peptoids exhibit enhanced stabilitytoward proteolysis relative to peptides,10 significantly differentlipophilicity and physicochemical properties, better cell pene-tration,87 and low immunogenicity. Hence peptoids find inter-esting applications in biological probe development as well asin drug discovery.

2.204.5.1. Protein Receptor Ligands

2.204.5.1.1. Proteinprotein interaction inhibitorsProteinprotein interactions play a crucial role in cellular andbiological processes. Consequently, the chemical interventionof proteinprotein interactions would enable new therapeuticpossibilities. Targeting proteinprotein interactions often canbe a challenging task for small molecules that satisfy Lipinskisrules because of the large protein surface area to cover. High-throughput screening (HTS) programs can sometimes lead tothe discovery of small molecules that are capable of disruptingcertain proteinprotein interactions; however, the eventualsuccess of these compounds as drugs remains uncertain. Pep-tides and peptidomimetics, which are larger molecules thanthe small molecules, have been identified as high-affinity bin-ders to proteinprotein interaction surfaces and are currentlybeing developed as drug candidates.

Apoptosis, a critical biological process that is strongly regu-lated by proteinprotein complex formation, is implicated inhuman disease states such as cancer, ischemic injuries, andneurological disorders. Development of an apoptosis modula-tor through inhibition of apoptosome assembly formation hasbeen reported by Perez-Paya and coworkers.88,89 Apoptosome,a multi-protein complex consisting of cytochrome c, apoptoticprotease activating factor-1 (Apaf-1), procaspase 9, and dATP,mediate the caspase cascade and apoptosis. From the screeningof a positional scanning diversity-oriented library (!5000 pep-toids) and further chemical optimization process, Perez-Payaand coworkers identified peptoid oligomers (Figure 6, (1)and (2)) that directly bind Apaf-1 and showed the decrease inthe apoptotic phenotype inmitochondrial-mediated models of

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Figure 6 Peptoid ligands that bind to protein receptors.




cellular apoptosis. To increase antiapoptotic activity of 1, theauthors conjugated the peptoid trimer to poly-L-glutamic acid(pL-Glu), and the resulting peptoid-polymer conjugate not onlyenhanced the antiapoptotic activity but also lowered cytotoxic-ity of 1 in various cell lines. Further studies include conjugationof 1 to cell-penetrating peptides (i.e., penetratin and HIV-tat)and cyclization of 1. Along with the pL-Glu-1 conjugate,penetratin-1 and cyclo-1 indicated better cell permeability andefficacy in an ex vivo assay, and the authors are moving forwardto examine the effectiveness of Apaf-1 inhibitors for in vivomyocardial infarction model.90

Connections between cancer and protein 53 (or p53) havebeen well established.91 Protein 53 is a tumor suppressor pro-tein that regulates the cell cycle and prevents cancer; therefore,when p53 is inactive, cells are able to grow and proliferate.Human double minute 2 (HDM2), which has emerged as anindependent anticancer drug target, downregulates p53 func-tion and inactivates the protein. Overexpression of HDM2 hasbeen linked to tumor aggressiveness, and inhibition of HDM2can restore p53 function and prevent tumor growth. The crystalstructure of a p53 peptide bound to HDM2 provides usefulinformation for the design of HDM2 inhibitors. Using struc-ture-guided design, Appella and coworkers designed peptoid-based HDM2 inhibitors.92 To mimic the p53 peptide fragmentbound to HDM2, the authors initially prepared peptoid helicesas HDM2 binders. However, their best inhibitor (Figure 6, (3))lacked a helical structure but still maintained good bindingaffinity against HDM2 (IC50' 6.6 mM). Dissociation constantsmeasured by isothermal titration calorimetry indicated that thebinding affinity of 3 (Kd' 1.23 mM)was about a half of the p53(1529) peptide fragment (Kd' 0.62 mM). From their experi-ence, the authors concluded that starting with rigid peptoidscaffold may not always be optimal to develop new inhibitors.

Alternatively, Kodadek and coworkers used peptoid combi-natorial library screening to identify an inhibitor of HDM2protein.77 Constructed by standard mix-and-split synthesis onTentaGel, their peptoid libraries were composed of one- to five-hundred thousand peptoid hexamers. They used 13 peptoidsubmonomers with distinct functionalities, so their peptoidlibrary was chemically diverse. On-bead screening using TexasRed-labeled HDM2 protein provided a peptoid octamer withKd' 37mM.

Src homology 3 (SH3) andWWprotein interaction domainsparticipate in diverse signaling pathways, and their functionalroles in cancer, osteoporosis, and inflammation are implicated.The SH3 protein domains recognize a specific proline-richsequence motif, PXXP, where P is proline and X is any aminoacid. In addition, it is known that these domains broadly acceptamide N-substituted residues instead of recognizing only thecritical prolines. In comparison to natural peptides which haveproline as the only N-subsituted amino acid, peptoids provideenormous number of N-substituted nonnatural amino acids.Lim et al. exploited the diversity offered by peptoid residues,screened a series of ligands in which key prolines were replacedby nonnatural N-substituted residues, and discovered a ligandthat selectively bound the Grb2 SH3 domain with 100 timesgreater affinity than natural peptide.93 The authors carried outfurther variation of the peptoid residues and created highlydomain-specific peptidepeptoid hybrids.94 Members of theSrc homology 2 (SH2) family have also been targeted withpeptidepeptoid hybrids. The structures of the peptomer

ligands for Syk95 and Shc96 domains are shown in Figure 6((3a) and (3b), respectively). The peptomer ligands were dis-covered by a peptoid scan which provided a useful method toexamine to what extent a peptide sequence can be transformedinto a peptoid (or a peptomer) while maintaining its bindingaffinity.

The binding of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)to the receptor VEGFR is an important signaling event inangiogenesis, and inhibition of the hormone-receptor bindingcan lead to a possible treatment of cancer. Monoclonal anti-bodies such as Avastin and Erbitux have shown to block theVEGF signaling pathway; however, more effective VEGFR antag-onists will help increase patients survival time significantly.

Employing mix-and-split combinatorial peptoid library asa source of receptor-binding ligands, Kodadek et al. screenedon-bead peptoid oligomers for VEGFR2 using a two-color,cell-based screening technique.84 From the screening of!300 000 size peptoid library, they discovered peptoid non-amer 4 (Figure 6) with low-micromolar-binding affinity toVEGFR2 in vitro (Kd 2 mM). Because VEGFR2 functions asa homodimer, the authors envisioned that homodimer of 4would increase the binding affinity and, indeed, found homo-dimer 5 had a binding affinity of Kd 30nM for VEGFR2. Thepeptoid antibody surrogate was proven to be active in a mousemodel and inhibited tumor growth in vivo. In the followingstudy, the authors identified three side chains in the peptoidnonamer as minimally required pharmacophore and foundbackbone amide atoms participated in the binding withVEGFR-2.97 Interestingly, the peptoid ligand did not bind tothe anticipated site and did not compete with VEGF for bind-ing to VEGFR-2. The authors proposed an allosteric mecha-nism of the peptoid antagonist that might prevent the receptorfrom acquiring the proper conformation to propagate down-stream signals.98

2.204.5.1.2. Receptor ligandsHighly potent peptoid ligands for 7-transmembraneG-protein-coupled receptors (7TM/GPCR) were identifiedfrom a peptoid combinatorial library.73 Peptoid timers 6 and 7(Figure 6) showed low-nanomolar-binding affinities for a1-adrenergic receptor (Ki 5nM) and m-opiate receptor (Ki 6nM), respectively. This study was the first demonstration of thegeneration of high-affinity ligands for a pharmaceutically rele-vant receptor from a synthetic combinatorial library. The pep-toid library design was based on an analysis of known GPCRligands, which revealed that each peptoid should contain at leastone aromatic hydrophobic side chain and one hydrogen-bonddonating side chain. This rational design strategy lowered totalnumber of peptoids in the library (!5000 peptoids), and suc-cessfully provided tight binders to GPCR receptors.

Following the Zuckermanns discovery of the peptoid GPCRligands, a vast number of peptoids or peptomers were reportedas ligands for various receptors. Adan and coworkers reporteddiscovery of peptomers targeting the melanocortin recep-tors.99,100 The melanocortin receptors are G-protein-coupledreceptors with five different isoforms, MC1RMC5R. Particu-larly, MC4R are known to be an excellent drug target forthe treatment of obesity. The authors used a peptoid scan totransform an MC4R selective peptide heptameric ligand intopeptomers, assayed the 31 peptomers for binding toward mel-anocortin subtypes, and found that the peptomers generally




retained selectivity for MC4R. Although introduction of peptoidmoieties resulted in a decrease of affinity, many of the pepto-mers were still active at submicromolar concentrations. In addi-tion, the authors observed increased bioavilability of thepeptomers when three or more of the seven peptide residueswere substituted with peptoid residues.

The vanilloid receptor subunit 1 (VR1), also known as thecapsaicin receptor, plays essential role in inflammatory pain inthe peripheral nervous system. Ferrer-Montiel et al. synthesizedand screened trimeric peptoid library to discover novel VR1antagonists.101 Compound 8 in Figure 6 showed submicro-molar potency and in vivo analgesic and anti-inflammatoryactivities. Using the scaffold for further optimizatoin, Albericioet al. synthesized 20 indole-containing peptoids and evaluatedthe biological activity of the peptoids as novel VR1 antago-nists.102 In this series, compound 9 (Figure 6) showed the bestpotency and selectivity: !4-fold stronger potency and 10-foldhigher selectivity than the parent peptoid 8 was obtained.

Other than the peptoid or peptomer ligands introduced here,there are a vast number of peptoids or peptomers discovered asligands for various receptors and proteins. Cholecystokininreceptor antagonists,103 hsst2 receptor-binding somatostatinmimics,104 Tachykinin NK3 receptor antagonists,

105 conca-navalin A-binding oligomannopeptoids,106,107 P-glycoprotein-binding multi-drug resistance reversal peptoids,108 NMDA(N-methyl-D-aspartate) receptor antagonists,109 VLA-4 inhibi-tors,110 MHC-II ligands,111 maltose-binding protein ligands,112

and urokinase plasminogen activator receptor ligands113 are allincluded in this category. All these works demonstrated thatpeptoids were an excellent source of biologically active receptorligands. Most of the compounds isolated in these efforts hadpotency in the low-micromolar range. But there are some lessonslearned from the earlier works regarding peptoid ligand discov-ery: (1) Simple transformation of a known peptide ligand to apeptoid (or to a peptomer) may not always retain bindingaffinity of the parent peptide.Often a significant conformationalchange occurs upon single mutation of a peptide residue to apeptoid residue. In addition, the unavailability of backboneNHproton in peptoid can lead to a loss of an existing hydrogenbonding interaction. (2) Peptoid ligands identified in libraryscreening do not always bind to expected binding sites andmay have different mechanism of action from that of naturalligands as was shown by Kodadeks VEGFR-2 ligand.98 (3) Gen-erally, peptoid library that is highly diverse, but modestly sized(i.e., 5000! 10000 compounds from 20 different amines), wassufficient to provide high-quality ligands.12

2.204.5.2. Nucleic Acid Binders

Antisense oligonucleotides have been used in biological stud-ies for the determination of gene function and in medicine forthe suppression of disease-related genes.114 More recently, syn-thetic molecules are being used to target RNAs. Most of theRNA targeting synthetic molecules have been discovered byhigh-throughput screening of a library for binding therapeuti-cally relevant RNAs. Disney et al. prepared peptoid microarraysthat were composed of peptoid scaffolds with moieties knownto bind RNA.115 They screened the library for inhibiting thegroup I intron RNA from Canadida albicans, an opportunisticpathogen that kills immunocompromised host. Each peptoid

ligand identified from the screening inhibited self-splicing inthe presence of 1mM nucleotide concentration of bulk yeasttRNA with IC50 values between 150 and 2200 mM. Based on thestructural features of the peptoid binders, second generationsof peptoids were designed and synthesized; all second genera-tion peptoid inhibitors showed enhanced potencies with IC50values lower than 100 mM. The best peptoid in this study hadan IC50 of 31 mM and contained one phenylguanidino- andthree indole-functionalities (1 in Figure 7). Peptoid 1 wassixfold more tightly binding to the RNA than pentamidine, aclinically used drug that inhibits self-splicing. This study is asuccessful example of rational library design and screening toidentify a synthetic RNA binder.

The same group reported the discovery of RNA bindersthrough rational design of peptoid RNA binders solely basedon the information about the ligand-binding site in RNA. Theyemployed modularly assembled ligands targeting the RNA thatcauses myotonic dystrophy (DM), an inherited disease that ischaracterized by wasting of muscles.116,117 60-N-5-Hexynoatekanamycin A is known to bind 2% 2 nucleotide, pyrimidine-rich RNA internal loops. Multiple copies of such loops arefound in the RNA hairpin that causes DM2. The authors dis-played 60-N-5-hexynoate kanamycin A on a peptoid scaffoldwith various degrees of multivalency and spacing to targetseveral internal loops simultaneously. The multivalent displayof 60-N-5-hexynoate kanamycin A on a peptoid scaffoldyielded a peptoid that inhibited the interaction of DM2 RNAand muscleblind protein (MBNL-1). The most potent binderdisplays three 60-N-5-hexynoate kanamycin A modules, eachseparated by four spacer peptoid monomers (2, Figure 7). Thepeptoid showed an IC50 value of 25nM for the inhibition ofthe RNA-protein complex formation, and binds the DM2 RNAat least 30 times more tightly than related RNAs and 15 timesmore tightly than MBNL-1. In addition, they showed peptoid2 could penetrate cell membrane by an uptake study into amouse myoblast cell line.

2.204.5.3. Antimicrobial Agents

Over the past decades, a broad class of antimicrobial peptides(AMPs) has been identified as an intrinsic defense in animals,plants, and in a wide variety of organisms. AMPs have been ofgreat interest to researchers not only because AMPs belong tothe innate host-defense immune system, but also because theyare promising candidates for the development of antibiotics.The antimicrobial activity of AMPs encompasses diverse spe-cies including Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria,fungi, and virus. The mechanism of action for most AMPsis permeabilization of the bacterial cytoplasmic membrane,which is facilitated by their cationic amphipathic struc-ture.118,119 Another possible mechanism of AMPs is that thepeptides penetrate cell membrane and target intracellular sub-stances such as nucleic acids.120 Both mechanisms do notnecessarily involve specific receptors, so the chances for bacte-ria to develop resistance for AMPs are thought to be slim.

AMPs are typically short (1050 amino acids) sequenceswith a-helical, b-hairpin, extended or loop structures and usu-ally have a cationic amphipathicity. Bacterial membranes arecomposed of an excess of phosphatidylserine over phosphati-dylcholine and are negatively charged; hence, the cationic




region of AMPs provides a degree of selectivity toward thebacterial membranes over mammalian membranes. Thehydrophobic portions of AMPs are believed to play a role forthe insertion or penetration into the bacterial cell membrane.

Discovery of antimicrobial agents has been a very activearea in peptoid research. Although AMPs possess a number ofpositive aspects, they have not been developed as drugs due tothe poor pharmacokinetics. This problem motivates the effortto develop peptoid mimics of AMPs as antibiotics.

Magainin-2, a linear, cationic, facially amphipathic helicalAMP, was successfullymimicked by Barron and coworkers usingpeptoid helices.121124 Several members of antimicrobial pep-toids or ampetoids were discovered with low-micromolar MIC(minimal inhibitory concentration) value and relatively lowtoxicity (1 and 2, Figure 8). Peptoid 1 is composed of a helix-inducing and hydrophobic residue, Nspe, and a cationic residueNLys. The latter was incorporated every third position to createa cationic face on the helix (peptoid helix has a periodicity ofthree residues per turn). Peptoid 2, a variant of peptoid 1, wascreated by replacing the Nspe at position 6 with L-proline.Circular dichroism (CD) study indicated that L-proline is wellaccomodated in right-handed type-I polyproline-like peptoidhelices, and 1 and 2 showed similar helical intensity. Comparedto the parent peptoid, 2 exhibited similar antimicrobial activitywhile less hemolysis and less cytotoxicity were observed. Broadspectrum activities of these ampetoids against clinically relevantBSL-2 pathogens including Staphylococcus aureus were alsoshown in their study. Carefully designed structureactivity

relationship study by Barron and coworkers provides someimportant information: (1) excessive hydrophobicity and heli-city in a peptoid leads to greater hemolysis and toxicity;(2) number of cationic charges needs to be higher than 3;and (3) selective peptoids appear to have induced helicityincrease upon interaction with negatively charged membrane.These design strategy will help the development of more selec-tive antimicrobial peptoids in the future.

Earlier than Barrons work, Winter and coworkers usedcombinatorial library screening to discover peptoid trimersthat inhibit bacterial growth.125,126 The MIC of the representa-tive peptoid (3, Figure 8) showed 540mM. Excessive hydro-phobicity, however, caused the peptoid to be hemolytic.

Mutations of AMPs with various peptoid residues generatedselective AMP analogs.127 Melittin (4), an active component ofbee venom, is a highly potent AMP, but at the same time, it isnonselective. Melittin contains leucine zippermotif, two leucineresidues and an isoleucine are positioned at 7-residue intervals,and the motif promotes dimerization of melittin. Shin andcoworkers generated a series of melittin mutants by replacingLeu-6, Leu-13, and Ile-20 with Nala, Nleu, Nphe, or Nlys (5, 6,7, 8, respectively), and investigated their secondary structure,dimerization capability, antimicrobial activity, and cell selectiv-ity.128 CD study demonstrated that the substitutions disruptedthe helical integrity of melittin, and Nleu, Nphe, or Nlys substi-tution disturbed the dimerization of melittin in an aqueousmedia. Compounds 58 maintained the interaction with nega-tively charged bacterial membrane but lost the interaction with

NH

NH

HN

O

O O

O

NNNN

N N N NO

H

NH

FAM

O

ON

N

HOHO

HO

O

O

HN

O

O

O

HO

OH

OH

6!-N-5-hexynoate kanamycin A

OH

NN

NN

N

NN N

N

NN

N

O

O

O4 4

2

1

O

O

H2N

NH2

H2NNH2

NH2

NH2

NHNH

H2N

Figure 7 Peptoids that target nucleic acids.




zwitterionic mammalian cell membrane providing significantselectivity increase. In their study, melittin analogs 7 and 8showed the best selectivity toward bacterial cells. The authorsconcluded that the peptoid substitution changed melittinsmode of action from membrane-targeting mechanism to possi-ble intracellular component targeting mechanism.

2.204.5.4. Lung Surfactants

Surfactant proteins (SP) play an important role for innatehost defense and are essential for physiological lung function.Four pulmonary SP have been identified so far, known asSP-A, -B, -C, and -D. SP-B and -C are small, hydrophobicproteins that function in conjunction with lipids to reducesurface tension at the air-liquid interface of the lung.129

A deficiency of SP-B and -C, frequently observed in prematureinfants, results in impaired lung function and gas exchangeknown as infant respiratory distress syndrome (IRDS). SP-Aand -D are hydrophilic collagen-like lectins that bind oligosac-charides on the surface of microorganisms.130 As membersof innate immune system, these two proteins opsonize andaggregate bacteria and viruses; therefore, SP-A and -D enhanceuptake of pathogens by immune cells such as alveolar macro-phages and neutrophils. Reduced levels of SP-A and -D makethe host susceptible to bacterial and viral infections.

Surfactant replacement therapy (SRT) using exogenouslung surfactant (SP-B or SP-C) has been an effective treatmentfor IRDS, and premature infant survival has improved signifi-cantly. However, there are drawbacks regarding the usage ofthe current animal-derived surfactant proteins (SP-B and SP-C)such as high production costs, batch-to-batch variability,and possible transfer of cross-species infectious agents, which

has prompted investigation into the discovery of syntheticSP preparations.

Development of synthetic and biomimetic surfactants utiliz-ing peptoids has been actively investigated by Barron and collea-gues.129 First, sequence-specific peptoid analogs of SP-C (5-32)have been reported.131133 The sequences of the peptoid-basedSP-Cmimicswere designed to adopt key structural features of thenatural protein; (1) a helical and hydrophobic region and (2) anN-terminal amphipathic achiral region were incorporated. Thepeptoid comprising 22monomers acted as an excellentmimic ofSP-C protein (1 and 2, Figure 9). When integrated into a lipidfilm, the amphipathic helical peptoid SP-C mimic captures theessential biophysical surface-activity of the natural protein. Theauthors carried out a systematic structurefunction relationshipstudy and characterized the peptoid mimics using various bio-physical characterizations including CD, Langmuir-Wilhelmysurface balance, fluorescence microscopy, and pulsating bubblesurfactometry. They concluded that (1) the aromatic-based SP-Cpeptoids have superior surface activity and film morphologythan the aliphatic-based peptoids and (2) increased activity wasobserved upon increasing helical length.

Along with the biomimetic SP-C, Barron group activelydeveloped peptoid-based SP-B mimics.134 Initially, theydesigned and synthesized simple amphipathic peptoid helices(3 and 4, Figure 9). Surface pressure-area isotherms, surfactantfilm phase morphology, and dynamic adsorption behaviorindicated that the peptoids were promising mimics of SP-B1-25.The helicity and lipophilicity of the peptoids were shown to beimportant in the activities of the SP-B mimics. Later, the authorsattempted to mimic natural SP-B protein in a more precise way:(1) the incorporation of a hydrophobic, helical insertion regionwith aromatic side chains showed significantly improved in vitro

1: H-(NLys-Nspe-Nspe)4-NH2

2: H-NLys-Nspe-Nspe-NLys-Nspe-L-Pro-(NLys-Nspe-Nspe)2-NH2

NH2

NH2

OO

NN

O

ON

Nphe

CH3N

ON

NleuNala

NLysNspe NH2HNO

3

4: H-GIGAVLKVLTTGLPALISWIKRKRQQ-NH2

5: H-GIGAVNalaKVLTTGNalaPALISWNalaKRKRQQ-NH2

6: H-GIGAVNleuKVLTTGNleuPALISWNleuKRKRQQ-NH2

8: H-GIGAVNlysKVLTTGNlysPALISWNlysKRKRQQ-NH2

7: H-GIGAVNpheKVLTTGNphePALISWNpheKRKRQQ-NH2

O

ON

N

Figure 8 Peptoids with antimicrobial activity.




surface activity (5, Figure 9)135 and (2) dimerization of thepeptoid SP-Bmimics using click chemistry provided bettermim-icry of natural SP-B homodimeric protein, and enhanced surfaceactivity was observed (6, Figure 9).136

2.204.5.5. Peptoid Pharmacology

As described earlier, peptoids differ from peptides only inthat peptoid side chains are attached to the backbone amidenitrogen instead of the a-carbon. This unique structure ofpeptoids leads to quite different pharmacological propertiesfrom peptides: (1) they are highly stable against proteases orpeptidase;10,11 (2) they lack a backbone hydrogen-bondingdonor, which prevents backbone-driven aggregation and thusincreases bioavailability; and (3) they showed increased cellpermeability over peptides.87

To assess the potential of peptoids as useful therapeuticagents, pharmacokinetic profile of small peptoid was investi-gated.137 In this study, radiolabeled tripeptoid and tetrapeptidewhich had similar physicochemical properties (molecularweight, hydrogen-bonding capacity, and octanolwater

partition coefficient) were compared for their in vivo pharmaco-kinetic behaviors. Both compounds showed similar adsorptiveclearances, but different absorption and disposition character-istics in the rat. Their comparable intestinal permeability waslikely from their similar physicochemical properties. However,the structural difference between peptide and peptoid appearedto be the reason for their dissimilarities in in vivo absorption anddisposition. As was expected, it was observed that the tetrapep-tides was rapidly metabolized, but the tripeptoid was stable inthe body. The authors in this study concluded that the peptoidappeared to have advantages over the peptide in terms of meta-bolic stability, but its low oral absorption and rapid biliaryexcretion still present challenges.

Pharmacological study was carried out for the peptoidligand of a1-adrenergic receptor (compound 6 in Figure 6).The peptoid trimer was demonstrated to be soluble and meta-bolically stable in vitro and to have receptor antagonist activityin animals.138 The intravenous administration of 6 to dogsantagonized the epinephrine-induced increase in intraurethalpressure. In both rats and guinea pigs, 6 antagonized theepinephrine-induced increase in mean arterial blood pressure

NNN

NH N N

O

OO

O O

NN

O

Helical region

O

NH214

N

NH2

+ +

H2N NH

NH

O

O

N

N

N

N

N

O

O

O

O

NH2

NH2

Phe Gly lle Pro Ser Ser Pro Val His Leu Lys Arg Leu Leu lle (Leu)7 lle (Leu)3 lle Leu Gly Ala Leu Leu Met Gly Leu351

SP-C peptide (1):Peptide mimic of surfactant protein C (Val -> Leu, Cys -> Ser)

SP-C peptoid (2):Peptoid mimic of surfactant protein C

Peptoids - Synthesis, Characterization, And Nanostructures

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