Self-association, hydrophobic interactions

The theory of hydrophobic interaction [70-72] indicates that hydrophobic residues tend to associate with one another so as to minimize the surface area exposed to the aqueous phase and thereby to release a maximum number of structured water molecules. Therefore, the steric fit between the hydrophobic groups may be an important factor for the hydrophobic association. It is reasonable to consider that aromatic hydrophobic groups may undergo tighter hydrophobic self-association because planar aromatic rings would sterically fit with each other to favor the release of structured water. 

Hydrophobic interaction refers to the tendency of nonpolar compounds to self-associate in an aqueous environment. This self-association is driven neither by mutual attraction nor by what are sometimes incorrectly referred to as hydrophobic bonds. Self-association arises from the need to minimize energetically unfavorable interactions between nonpolar groups and water. 

One inherent property of peptides that interact with membranes is that self-association or even aggregation will interfere with solubilization by organic solvents or micelles. The preparation, purification and sample preparation of extremely hydrophobic (often transmembrane) peptides is nontrivial and has been addressed by only a few papers [74—79]. 

Physical properties of the protein structure should be considered in designing strategies to achieve stable formulations because they can often yield clues about which solution environment would be appropriate for stabilization. For example, the insulin molecule is known to self-associate via a nonspecific hydrophobic mechanism66 Stabilizers tested include phenol derivatives, nonionic and ionic surfactants, polypropylene glycol, glycerol, and carbohydrates. The choice of using stabilizers that are amphiphilic in nature to minimize interactions where protein hydrophobic surfaces instigate the instability is founded upon the hydro-phobic effect.19 It has already been mentioned that hydrophobic surfaces prefer... 

Insulin Lispro was the first recombinant fast-acting insulin analogue to gain marketing approval (Table 8.3). It displays an amino acid sequence identical to native human insulin, with one alteration — an inversion of the natural proline lysine sequence found at positions 28 and 29 of the insulin jS-chain. This simple alteration significantly decreased the propensity of individual insulin molecules to self-associate when stored at therapeutic dose concentrations. The dimerization constant for Insulin Lispro is 300 times lower than that exhibited by unmodified human insulin. Structurally, this appears to occur as the change in sequence disrupts the formation of inter-chain hydrophobic interactions critical to self-association. 

Because the self-assembly takes place between a pair of two-heptad peptides through hydrophobic interaction, a relatively high concentration of salt needs to be added to enhance the hydrophobic effects. In addition, at the N-terminus, Cys was introduced to promote the association of the dimer and further polymerization. 

In an aqueous medium these wtermolecular attractive interactions make a strong contribution to biopolymer self-association and inclusion complex formation, as well as to the flocculation of biopolymer-coated colloidal particles. // //Y/molecular hydrophobic interactions commonly influence the level of folding/unfolding of macromolecules as well as their detailed conformations. 

Several laboratories have described systems by which synthetic linear peptide chains self-assemble into desirable secondary and tertiary structures. One self-assembly approach has been the creation of a peptide-amphiphile, whereby a peptide head group has the propensity to form a distinct structural element, while a lipophilic tail serves to align the peptide strands and induce secondary and tertiary structure formation, as well as providing a hydrophobic surface for self-association and/or interaction with other surfaces. The preparation of a dialkyl ester tail first involves the acid-catalyzed condensation of H-Glu-OH with the appropriate fatty acid alcohol to form the dialkyl ester of H-Glu-OH a typical example is shown in Scheme 7. The assembly of peptide-amphiphiles with mono- and dialkyl ester tails is shown in Scheme 8. A series of studies have demonstrated that triple-helical and a-helical protein-like molecular architecture is stabilized in the peptide-amphiphile 44,63-65 ... 

Martin (1980) reported self-association of daunomycin (an adriamycin analogue). Therefore, the conjugated ADR is considered to work as a very good carrier of the physically entrapped ADR by providing speciLc interactions between the two ADR molecules as well as nonspeciLc hydrophobic interactions (Yokoyama et al., 1998). 

In the case of the water-soluble metallo-host possessing a benzene side-walled, the cavities were observed to self-associate in water to form well-defined dimers which further self-assemble, although solutions in water remained clear up to relatively high concentrations (> 30 mM). Samples of these solutions were studied with TEM and revealed rather ill defined, scroll-like mesoscopic assemblies with lengths up to 10 pm, and a typical width of approximately 100 nm. Enlargement of the receptor side-walls with naphthalene moieties, increases both the hydrophobic character of the hosts and the 7t-7t interactions between the molecules. When the concentration of this naphthalene compound in water was increased to approximately 2 mM, the solution transformed into a turbid dispersion, which remained for days without any precipitation. 

Artificial membranes are used to study the influence of drug structure and of membrane composition on drug-membrane interactions. Artificial membranes that simulate mammalian membranes can easily be prepared because of the readiness of phospholipids to form lipid bilayers spontaneously. They have a strong tendency to self-associate in water. The macroscopic structure of dispersions of phospholipids depends on the type of lipids and on the water content. The structure and properties of self-assembled phospholipids in excess water have been described [74], and the mechanism of vesicle (synonym for liposome) formation has been reviewed [75]. While the individual components of membranes, proteins and lipids, are made up of atoms and covalent bonds, their association with each other to produce membrane structures is governed largely by hydrophobic effects. The hydrophobic effect is derived from the structure of water and the interaction of other components with the water structure. Because of their enormous hydrogen-bonding capacity, water molecules adopt a structure in both the liquid and solid state. 

Earlier literature has used the term hydrophobic bond, but it is clear from the above discussion that no special hydrophobic force exists. Nonpolar groups self-associate in water because their dispersal throughout the solvent would be entropically unfavorable. Once they come together and water is largely excluded, enthalpically favorable interactions are possible, but these are just (for nonaromatic hydrocarbons) the normal weak London forces between any polarizable groups. There is no bonding that is specifically hydrophobic. The correct term is hydrophobic effect. 

Grove TZ, Kostic NM. Metalloprotein association, self-association, and dynamics governed by hydrophobic interactions simultaneous occurrence of gated and true electron-transfer reactions between cytochrome and cytochrome c6 from Chlamydomonas reinhardii. J Am Chem Soc 2003 125 10598-607. 

The improved DNA binding and condensation provided by amino acids such as tryptophan suggests that the inclusion of hydrophobic interactions within DNA complexes may be beneficial. Peptides with moities that provide cooperative hydrophobic behavior of alkyl chains of cationic lipids would improve the stability of the peptide-based DNA delivery systems. Two general classes of lipopeptide analogs of Tyr-Lys-Ala-Lysn-Trp-Lys peptides have been prepared by including a hydrophobic anchor. The general structures are N, N-dialkyl-Gly-Tyr-Lys-Ala-Lysn-Trp-Lys and Na,Ne-diacyl-Lys-Lysn-Trp-Lys. These peptides differ from the parent structures in that they self-associate to form micelles in aqueous solutions. The inclusion of dialkyl or diacyl chains in the cationic peptides improves the peptide ability to bind DNA and reduces aggregation of the complexes in ionic media. 

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