Anion‐Selective Channels Formed by Synthetic 13‐Mer Chimeric α ‐Peptide‐Oligourea Foldamers
6 affiliations
- 1Department of Biological Sciences National University of Singapore Singapore Singapore
- 2NUS Environmental Research Institute (NERI) National University of Singapore Singapore Singapore
- 3Institut Européen des Membranes Adaptive Supramolecular Nanosystems Group University of Montpellier ENSCM, CNRS, Place Eugène Bataillon Montpellier France
- 4Univ. Bordeaux, CNRS, Bordeaux INP, CBMN, UMR 5248 IECB Pessac France
- 5Department of Pharmacology, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine National University of Singapore Singapore
- 6Department of Cellular, Molecular and Genetic Medicine, Virginia Commonwealth University Medical College of Virginia Richmond Virginia USA
Abstract
Attempts to design transmembrane channels with selective transport properties using advanced chemistry and computational tools have had limited success. Previously, we characterized 15-mer α-peptide-oligourea chimeric foldamers that form anion channels with high Cl -selectivity. Here, we report the design and synthesis of four 13-mer α-peptide-oligourea chimeric foldamers (HPU-EK, HPU-QQ, HPU-AA, and HPU-RH) as part of our attempts to generate new foldamers with distinct hydrophobic and hydrophilic surfaces in their helices. They consist of an 8-mer peptide with varied sequences at the N-terminal of a shorter oligourea segment (5-mer). They self-assemble into supramolecular channels. A 6.5 Å cryo-EM structure of HPU-AA revealed nanofibers with distinct dimensions and diverse modes of molecular assembly. Functional assays of the four chimeras demonstrated varying anion transport activities across lipid bilayer membranes. Enhanced ion transport activity was achieved by selective mutations within the foldamer sequences. HPU-AA, which has extended hydrophobic and narrower hydrophilic surfaces, showed the highest ion transport activity among the four foldamers. It exhibits distinct anion selectivity (I ->SCN ->NO 3 -= Cl ->Br ->OAc ->F -), with ∼3-fold higher conductance value for I -than Cl -. These studies help us understand the self-assembly of these chimeric foldamers and offer opportunities for designing novel channels for various biomedical applications.
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BibTeX
@article{dutta2026anionselective,
title = {{Anion‐Selective Channels Formed by Synthetic 13‐Mer Chimeric α ‐Peptide‐Oligourea Foldamers}},
author = {Chiranjit Dutta and Dandan Su and Pannaga Krishnamurthy and Zhaoxing Li and Jianwei Li and Morgane Pasco and Min Luo and Mihail Barboiu and Gilles Guichard and R. Manjunatha Kini and Prakash Kumar},
journal = {Chemistry - A European Journal},
year = {2026},
month = jul,
doi = {10.1002/chem.71434},
url = {https://hal.umontpellier.fr/hal-05761092v1},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Anion‐Selective Channels Formed by Synthetic 13‐Mer Chimeric α ‐Peptide‐Oligourea Foldamers
AU - Chiranjit Dutta
AU - Dandan Su
AU - Pannaga Krishnamurthy
AU - Zhaoxing Li
AU - Jianwei Li
AU - Morgane Pasco
AU - Min Luo
AU - Mihail Barboiu
AU - Gilles Guichard
AU - R. Manjunatha Kini
AU - Prakash Kumar
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/07/30
JO - Chemistry - A European Journal
DO - 10.1002/chem.71434
UR - https://hal.umontpellier.fr/hal-05761092v1
AB - Attempts to design transmembrane channels with selective transport properties using advanced chemistry and computational tools have had limited success. Previously, we characterized 15-mer α-peptide-oligourea chimeric foldamers that form anion channels with high Cl -selectivity. Here, we report the design and synthesis of four 13-mer α-peptide-oligourea chimeric foldamers (HPU-EK, HPU-QQ, HPU-AA, and HPU-RH) as part of our attempts to generate new foldamers with distinct hydrophobic and hydrophilic surfaces in their helices. They consist of an 8-mer peptide with varied sequences at the N-terminal of a shorter oligourea segment (5-mer). They self-assemble into supramolecular channels. A 6.5 Å cryo-EM structure of HPU-AA revealed nanofibers with distinct dimensions and diverse modes of molecular assembly. Functional assays of the four chimeras demonstrated varying anion transport activities across lipid bilayer membranes. Enhanced ion transport activity was achieved by selective mutations within the foldamer sequences. HPU-AA, which has extended hydrophobic and narrower hydrophilic surfaces, showed the highest ion transport activity among the four foldamers. It exhibits distinct anion selectivity (I ->SCN ->NO 3 -= Cl ->Br ->OAc ->F -), with ∼3-fold higher conductance value for I -than Cl -. These studies help us understand the self-assembly of these chimeric foldamers and offer opportunities for designing novel channels for various biomedical applications.
SN - 0947-6539
SN - 1521-3765
ER -