Tryptophan-PNA gc Conjugates Self-Assemble to Form Fibers

Peptide nucleic acids and their conjugates to peptides can self-assemble and generate complex architectures. In this work, we explored the self-assembly of PNA dimers conjugated to the dipeptide WW. Our studies suggest that the indole ring of tryptophan promotes aggregation of the conjugates. The onset of fluorescence is observed upon self-assembly. The structure of self-assembled WWgc is concentration-dependent, being spherical at low concentrations and fibrous at high concentrations. As suggested by molecular modeling studies, fibers are stabilized by stacking interactions between tryptophans and Watson-Crick hydrogen bonds between nucleobases.