Supramolecular Self-assembly of Engineered Polyproline Helices

The ability to rationally design biomaterials to form desired supramolecular constructs presents an ever-growing research field, with many burgeoning works within recent years providing exciting results, however, there exists a broad expanse of promising avenues of research yet to be investigated. As such we have set out to make use of the polyproline helix as a rigid, tuneable, and chiral ligand for the design and synthesis of supramolecular constructs. In this investigation we show how an oligoproline tetramer can be specifically designed and functionalised, allowing predictable tuning of supramolecular interactions to engineer the formation of supramolecular peptide frameworks with varying properties. Consequently, laying the groundwork for further studies utilising the polyproline helix, with the ability to design desired supramolecular structures, having tuneable structural features and functionalities.