Spontaneous and promoted association of linear oligoglycines

Linear oligoglycines of various lengths bearing a carboxyl or an amide group at their C-termini and also their poly(acrylamide) conjugates were synthesized. No self-assembly into supramolecular structures was observed for free oligoglycines H-(Gly)_m-OH (m = 3–5). At the same time, oligoglycylamides H-(Gly)_m-NH₂ (m = 3–5) demonstrated ability for both self-assembly in aqueous solution and assembly promoted by an additional interaction with surface. In the case of polymer-bound oligoglycines (and their amides), no intramolecular clustering of peptide chains, as expected, was observed. This means that the presence of several oligoglycine chains bound to each other in one center is not a necessary prerequisite for polyglycine II-type association.