Atomic Structure of a Short α-Helix Stabilized by a Main Chain Hydrogen-Bond Surrogate

Abstract

Herein we report the 1.15 A X-ray crystal structure of a short alpha-helix in which the N-terminal i and i + 4 main chain hydrogen bond is replaced with a carbon-carbon bond. The structure shows that the hydrogen-bond surrogate (HBS) derived alpha-helix truly resembles the structure of canonical alpha-helices and provides unequivocal support for our helix nucleation strategy.