Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Articles 1 - 3 of 3

Full-Text Articles in Medicinal and Pharmaceutical Chemistry

Ligand-Receptor Interactions For Supramolecular Disassembly With Applications In Screening And Drug Delivery, Diego Amado Torres Aug 2014

Ligand-Receptor Interactions For Supramolecular Disassembly With Applications In Screening And Drug Delivery, Diego Amado Torres

Doctoral Dissertations

Proteins have the capacity to bind specific sets of compounds known as ligands, these are small molecules with a recurrent theme in their molecular design that is a characteristic exploited here to (i) identify particular affinities of small molecules for proteins with the aim of using them as ligands, inhibitors, or targeting moieties in more complex systems by means of a methodology that screens small molecules based on protein affinity; (ii) decorate a self-assembling supramolecular system at different positions, making it responsive to a complementary protein with the aim of exploring differences in disassembly and sensitivity of the release of …


Structural Similarity Between Β3-Peptides Synthesized From Β3-Homo-Amino Acids Or L-Aspartic Acid Monomers, Sahar Ahmed, Tara Sprules, Kamaljit Kaur May 2014

Structural Similarity Between Β3-Peptides Synthesized From Β3-Homo-Amino Acids Or L-Aspartic Acid Monomers, Sahar Ahmed, Tara Sprules, Kamaljit Kaur

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

Formation of stable secondary structures by oligomers that mimic natural peptides is a key asset for enhanced biological response. Here we show that oligomeric β3‐hexapeptides synthesized from l‐aspartic acid monomers (β3‐peptides 1, 5a, and 6) or homologated β3‐amino acids (β3‐peptide 2), fold into similar stable 14‐helical secondary structures in solution, except that the former form right‐handed 14‐helix and the later form left‐handed 14‐helix. β3‐Peptides from l‐Asp monomers contain an additional amide bond in the side chains that provides opportunities for more hydrogen bonding. However, based on the …


Hydropathic Interactions And Protein Structure: Utilizing The Hint Force Field In Structure Prediction And Protein‐Protein Docking., Mostafa H. Ahmed Jan 2014

Hydropathic Interactions And Protein Structure: Utilizing The Hint Force Field In Structure Prediction And Protein‐Protein Docking., Mostafa H. Ahmed

Theses and Dissertations

Protein structure predication is a field of computational molecular modeling with an enormous potential for improvement. Side-chain geometry prediction is a critical component of this process that is crucial for computational protein structure predication as well as crystallographers in refining experimentally determined protein crystal structures. The cornerstone of side-chain geometry prediction are side-chain rotamer libraries, usually obtained through exhaustive statistical analysis of existing protein structures. Little is known, however, about the driving forces leading to the preference or suitability of one rotamer over another. Construction of 3D hydropathic interaction maps for nearly 30,000 tyrosines extracted from the PDB reveals their …