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Updated: Aug 4, 2026

Formation of Ordered Biomolecular Structures by the Self-assembly of Short Peptides
Published on: November 21, 2013
Co-assembled Coiled-Coil Peptide Nanotubes with Enhanced Stability and Metal-Dependent Cargo Loading
Michael D Jorgensen1, Jean Chmielewski1
1Department of Chemistry, Purdue University, 560 Oval Drive, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907, United States.
Abstract:
Peptide nanotube biomaterials are attractive for their range of applications. Herein, we disclose the co-assembly of coiled-coil peptides, one with ligands for metal ions that demonstrate hierarchical assembly into nanotubes, with spatial control of the metal-binding ligands. Enhanced stability of the nanotubes to phosphate-buffered saline was successfully accomplished in a metal-dependent fashion, depending on the levels and placement of the ligand-containing coiled-coil peptide. This spatial control also allowed for site-specific labeling of the nanotubes with His-tagged fluorophores through the length of the tubes or at the termini, in a metal-dependent manner.
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