Proton transfer-induced conformational changes and melting in designed peptides in the gas phase.

The conformations of protonated RA15K, RA20K and RA15H (R = arginine, A = alanine, K = lysine, and H = histidine) have been examined in the gas phase as a function of temperature. These peptides were designed so that intramolecular proton transfer will trigger conformational changes between a helix (proton sequestered at the C-terminus) and globule (proton sequestered at the N-terminus). Kinetically controlled structural transitions occur below 400 K (from helix to globule for RA15H, and from globule to helix for RA15K and RA20K). As the temperature is raised, the compact globule found at room temperature expands, accesses more configurations, and becomes entropically favored. At around 500 K, the RA15K and RA20K helices undergo a melting transition. The transition is broad, as expected for a phase transition in a finite system, and becomes narrower as the peptide size increases. In the helical conformation, the two basic residues are well separated; as a result, the proton transfer necessary to drive the melting transition probably involves a mobile proton. For doubly protonated RA15K, a dumbbell-like conformation (resulting from repulsion between the two protonated basic residues) is found at high temperature.