Self-Assembly of Peptide-Like Tubes

Ethyl vinyl sulfone (EVS)-substituted lysine can spontaneously form tubes at optimal substitution levels and solution conditions.  The tubes can have diameters from tens of nanometers to several microns and lengths up to millimeters.  EVS-substituted lysine aggregates into beta-sheet mimics through an amine-sulfonyl hydrogen bond that is of similar length to an amine-carbonyl hydrogen bond in natural peptide beta-sheets.  The nanometer-sized beta-sheet mimics form larger sheets that then roll into tubes to minimize surface area.  The sheet size can be controlled by concentration and rate of addition so tubes of varying size can be built.  The tubes could find use in nano/microdevices or as cellular substrates where defined fluid transport would be needed.