Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Molecular Recognition Of Methionine-Terminated Peptides By Cucurbit[8]Uril, Zoheb Hirani, Hailey F. Taylor, E. F. Babcock, Andrew T. Bockus, C. D. Varnado Jr., Christopher W. Bielawski, Adam R. Urbach

Adam R Urbach

This Article describes the molecular recognition of peptides containing an N-terminal methionine (Met) by the synthetic receptor cucurbit[8]-uril (Q8) in aqueous solution and with submicromolar affinity. Prior work established that Q8 binds with high affinity to peptides containing aromatic amino acids, either by simultaneous binding of two aromatic residues, one from each of two different peptides, or by simultaneous binding of an aromatic residue and its immediate neighbor on the same peptide. The additional binding interface of two neighboring residues suggested the possibility of targeting nonaromatic peptides, which have thus far bound only weakly to synthetic receptors. A peptide library …