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Updated: Jun 25, 2026

Preparation and Reactivity of Gasless Nanostructured Energetic Materials
Published on: April 2, 2015
Alpha-helical peptides are not protonated at the N-terminus in the gas phase
Robert Wieczorek1, J J Dannenberg
1Department of Chemistry, City University of New York-Hunter College and the Graduate School, 695 Park Avenue, New York, New York 10021, USA.
Abstract:
DFT/AM1 ONIOM calculations using B3LY/D95** indicate that protonations of alpha-helical alaN (N = 14, 17) occur preferentially at the COOH and C=O groups near the COOH terminus of the peptides. Protonations at the N-termini lead to local helical unraveling. The preference for protonation at or near the COOH terminus increases with N. Hydration should relatively favor the N-protonated structures, but at the expense of further unraveling. Since alpha-helices in proteins often form "bundles" that are not well-hydrated, the C=O groups at the ends of these helices might be readily protonated.
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