Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 19, 2026

Formation of Ordered Biomolecular Structures by the Self-assembly of Short Peptides
Published on: November 21, 2013
Self-organization of amphiphilic macromolecules with local helix structure in concentrated solutions
M K Glagolev1, V V Vasilevskaya, A R Khokhlov
1A. N. Nesmeyanov Institute of Organoelement Compounds RAS, Vavilova Str. 28, 119991, Moscow, Russia.
Abstract:
Concentrated solutions of amphiphilic macromolecules with local helical structure were studied by means of molecular dynamic simulations. It is shown that in poor solvent the macromolecules are assembled into wire-like aggregates having complex core-shell structure. The core consists of a hydrophobic backbone of the chains which intertwine around each other. It is protected by the shell of hydrophilic side groups. In racemic mixture of right-hand and left-hand helix macromolecules the wire-like complex is a chain of braid bundles of macromolecules with the same chirality stacking at their ends. The average number of macromolecules in the wire cross-section is close to that of separate bundles observed in dilute solutions of such macromolecules. The effects described here could serve as a simple model of self-organization in solutions of macromolecules with local helical structure.
Related Concept Videos
Micelles
Protein Organization
Protein Organization
The primary structure of a protein is its amino acid sequence.
Solubility
A solution is a homogeneous mixture composed of a solvent, the major component, and a solute, the minor component. The physical state of a solution—solid, liquid, or gas—is typically the same as that of the solvent. Solute concentrations are often described with qualitative terms such as dilute (of relatively low concentration) and concentrated (of relatively high concentration).
In a solution, the solute particles (molecules, atoms, and/or ions)...
Mechanisms of Membrane Domain Formation
Another mechanism for membrane domain formation involves membrane proteins interacting with cytoskeletal...
Colloids

