Helix stabilization of poly(ethylene glycol)-peptide conjugates

Hybrid polymer-peptide conjugates offer the potential for incorporating biological function into synthetic materials. The secondary structure of short helical peptides, however, frequently becomes less stable when expressed independent of longer protein sequences or covalently linked with a conformationally disordered synthetic polymer. Recently, new amphipathic peptide-poly(ethylene glycol) conjugates were introduced (Shu, J., et al. Biomacromolecules 2008, 9, 2011), which displayed enhanced peptide helicity upon polymer functionalization while retaining tertiary coiled-coil associations. We report here a molecular simulation study of peptide helix stabilization by conjugation with poly(ethylene glycol). The polymer oxygens are shown to favorably interact with the cationic lysine side chains, providing an alternate binding site that protects against disruption of the peptide hydrogen-bonds that stabilize the helical conformation. When the peptide lysine charges are neutralized or poly(ethylene glycol) is conjugated with polyalanine, the polymer exhibits a negligible effect on the secondary structure. We also observe the interactions of poly(ethylene glycol) with the amphipathic peptide lysines tends to segregate the polymer away from the nonpolar face of the helix, suggesting no disruption of the interactions that drive tertiary contacts between helicies.