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Updated: Apr 23, 2026

Formation of Ordered Biomolecular Structures by the Self-assembly of Short Peptides
Published on: November 21, 2013
Hierarchical assembly of branched supramolecular polymers from (cyclic Peptide)-polymer conjugates
Ming Liang Koh1, Katrina A Jolliffe, Sébastien Perrier
1Key Centre for Polymers and Colloids, School of Chemistry, and ‡School of Chemistry, University of Sydney , Building F11, Sydney, New South Wales 2006, Australia.
Abstract:
We report the synthesis and assembly of (N-methylated cyclic peptide)-polymer conjugates for which the cyclic peptide is attached to either the α- or both α- and ω- end groups of a polymer. A combination of chromatographic, spectroscopic, and scattering techniques reveals that the assembly of the conjugates follows a two-level hierarchy, initially driven by H-bond formation between two N-methylated cyclic peptides, followed by unspecific, noncovalent aggregation of this peptide into small domains that behave as branching points and lead to the formation of branched supramolecular polymers.
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