1.D.100. The Leucine (L)-Lysine (K) Synthetic Peptide Channel-forming (LK-SPC) Family

Several peptides containing only Leucine and lysine, organized so that the Ks all appear on one side of an α-helix, have been synthesized and examined for their nanopore properties. The four peptides studied all formed transmembrane pores and conducted ions (Sekiya et al. 2018):

L4K3: (H)-LKKLLKL-NH₂

L8K6: (H)-LKKLLKLLKKLLKL-NH₂

L12K9: (H)-LKKLLKLLKKLLKLLKKLLKL-NH₂

L16K12: (H)-LKKLLKLLKKLLKLLKKLLKLLKKLLKL-NH₂

References:

Sekiya, Y., S. Sakashita, K. Shimizu, K. Usui, and R. Kawano. (2018). Channel current analysis estimates the pore-formation and the penetration of transmembrane peptides. Analyst. [Epub: Ahead of Print]