Tuning the self-assembly of short peptides via sequence variations

Peptide self-assembly is of direct relevance to protein science and bionanotechnology, but the underlying mechanism is still poorly understood. Here, we demonstrate the distinct roles of the noncovalent interactions and their impact on nanostructural templating using carefully designed hexapeptides, I2K2I2, I4K2, and KI4K. These simple variations in sequence led to drastic changes in final self-assembled structures. β-sheet hydrogen bonding was found to favor the formation of one-dimensional nanostructures, such as nanofibrils from I4K2 and nanotubes from KI4K, but the lack of evident β-sheet hydrogen bonding in the case of I2K2I2 led to no nanostructure formed. The lateral stacking and twisting of the β-sheets were well-linked to the hydrophobic and electrostatic interactions between amino acid side chains and their interplay. For I4K2, the electrostatic repulsion acted to reduce the hydrophobic attraction between β-sheets, leading to their limited lateral stacking and more twisting, and final fibrillar structures; in contrast, the repulsive force had little influence in the case of KI4K, resulting in wide ribbons that eventually developed into nanotubes. The fibrillar and tubular features were demonstrated by a combination of cryogenic transmission electron microscopy (cryo-TEM), negative-stain transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and small-angle neutron scattering (SANS). SANS also provided structural information at shorter scale lengths. All atom molecular dynamics (MD) simulations were used to suggest possible molecular arrangements within the β-sheets at the very early stage of self-assembly.