Editorial

The American Peptide Symposium has been a forum for new research in peptide science for almost thirty years. For young scientists it has provided an opportunity to present their experimental results and to learn more about ongoing research in this rapidly changing field. The 15th American Peptide Symposium, held in Nashville, Tennessee, U.S.A. in June, 1997, highlighted the research of young scientists in two ways. Graduate students and postdoctoral fellows competed in the Young Investigators Poster Competition for awards for the most outstanding posters. The Young Investigators Mini-Symposium on the first day of the meeting provided an opportunity for selected young scientists to give oral presentations on their research. This special issue of Letters in Peptide Science highlights some of the results presented by young scientists as part of these two forums. The papers included exemplify the diversity of research in peptide science, from synthetic methodology to peptide structure to novel peptide design and biological activity. The outstanding quality of the research performed by these young scientists shows our field will be in good hands for the years to come.     

A theoretical study of receptor site models for trimethylammonium group interaction

A model system, depicting the interactions of the trimethylammonium and ammonium groups with possible receptor features has been constructed. The interaction energies of these two onium groups with seven receptor models have been calculated, using the interaction energy procedure of Claverie &; Rein (1969). The change of the energy of binding due to the structural change has been predicted for each receptor model. A ranking of receptor models has been constructed on this basis. The relationship of this change of binding energy to loss of potency of drug molecules containing these two structural features has been examined.