Water mediation is essential to nucleation of β-turn formation in peptide folding motifs

Abstract

Water-mediated bond formation: The structure of the peptide GPG-NH 2 (see picture) has been investigated in aqueous solution to understand the role of water in the formation of a β-turn. Using a combination of neutron diffraction enhanced by isotopic substitution, NMR spectroscopy, and computer simulations, it was found that water is an essential component to initiate folding in solution. © 2013 The Authors. Published by Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA.