Will it gel? Successful computational prediction of peptide gelators using physicochemical properties and molecular fingerprints



Gupta, Jyoti K, Adams, Dave J and Berry, Neil G ORCID: 0000-0003-1928-0738
(2016) Will it gel? Successful computational prediction of peptide gelators using physicochemical properties and molecular fingerprints. CHEMICAL SCIENCE, 7 (7). pp. 4713-4719.

Access the full-text of this item by clicking on the Open Access link.
[img] Text
ChemSci_revised.pdf - Unspecified

Download (616kB)

Abstract

The self-assembly of low molecular weight gelators to form gels has enormous potential for cell culturing, optoelectronics, sensing, and for the preparation of structured materials. There is an enormous "chemical space" of gelators. Even within one class, functionalised dipeptides, there are many structures based on both natural and unnatural amino acids that can be proposed and there is a need for methods that can successfully predict the gelation propensity of such molecules. We have successfully developed computational models, based on experimental data, which are robust and are able to identify <i>in silico</i> dipeptide structures that can form gels. A virtual computational screen of 2025 dipeptide candidates identified 9 dipeptides that were synthesised and tested. Every one of the 9 dipeptides synthesised and tested were correctly predicted for their gelation properties. This approach and set of tools enables the "dipeptide space" to be searched effectively and efficiently in order to deliver novel gelator molecules.

Item Type: Article
Depositing User: Symplectic Admin
Date Deposited: 03 May 2016 10:16
Last Modified: 19 Jan 2023 07:37
DOI: 10.1039/c6sc00722h
Open Access URL: https://pubs.rsc.org/en/Content/ArticleLanding/201...
Related URLs:
URI: https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3001006