Peptoids (or N-substituted glycine oligomers) are a unique class of organic compounds that have exhibited pharmaceutical properties, but it is not well understood how a peptoid might behave inside the human body. We determined how strongly a peptoid interacts with an artificial lipid membrane model system called a supported lipid bilayer, which is a mimic for the plasma membrane of a human cell. We monitored how peptoids of two different lengths (containing 6 and 15 subunits) interact with supported lipid bilayers of varying compositions using the laser-based technique second harmonic generation (SHG). This technique allowed quantification and differentiation between the concentrations of bound and unbound peptoids. Water-soluble peptoids composed of (S)-N-1-(naphthylethyl)glycine subunits were studied because they exhibited SHG signal at biologically relevant concentrations. Complementary experiments were also conducted with spherical liposomes using circular dichroism (CD) and fluorescence spectroscopies.

Peptoid interactions with artificial lipid membranes

251st National Meeting (2016)

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