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Updated: Jun 12, 2026

Formation of Ordered Biomolecular Structures by the Self-assembly of Short Peptides
Published on: November 21, 2013
Phase diagram of alpha-helical and beta-sheet forming peptides
1Centre for Molecular Nanoscience, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, United Kingdom.
Abstract:
The intrinsic property of proteins to form structural motifs such as alpha helices and beta sheets leads to a complex phase behavior in which proteins can assemble into various types of aggregates including crystals, liquidlike phases of unfolded or natively folded proteins, and amyloid fibrils. Here we use a coarse-grained protein model that enables us to perform Monte Carlo simulations for determining the phase diagram of natively folded alpha-helical and unfolded beta-sheet forming peptides. The simulations reveal the existence of various metastable peptide phases. The liquidlike phases are metastable with respect to the fibrillar phases, and there is a hierarchy of metastability.
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