Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 29, 2026

Formation of Ordered Biomolecular Structures by the Self-assembly of Short Peptides
Published on: November 21, 2013
Controlled formation of peptide bonds in the gas phase
Sunyoung Lee1, Stephen J Valentine, James P Reilly
1Department of Chemistry, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana 47405, United States.
Abstract:
Photoexcitation (using 157 nm vacuum ultraviolet radiation) of proton-bound peptide complexes leads to water elimination and the formation of longer amino acid chains. Thus, it appears that proton-bound dimers are long-lived intermediates along the pathway to peptide formation. Product specificity can be controlled by selection of specific complexes and the incorporation of blocking groups at the N- or C-termini. The product peptide sequences are confirmed using collision-induced dissociation.
Related Concept Videos
Peptide Bonds
Protein Folding
Protein Structure Is Critical to Its Biological Function
Proteins perform a wide range of biological functions such as catalyzing chemical reactions, providing...
Protein Folding
Protein Organization
Protein Organization
The primary structure of a protein is its amino acid sequence.
Protein Modifications in the RER
Broadly, these modifications can be categorized into four main categories — glycosylation, formation of disulfide bonds, assembly of protein subunits, and specific proteolytic cleavages like removal of signal sequences.

