5 Quaternary Structure Mimetics and Self-Assembly of Peptoids . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 406
5.1 Sheets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 406
5.2 Superhelices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 407
5.3 Nanotubes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 408
5.4 Worm-like Micelles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 410
6 Conclusion and Outlook . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 410
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 411
1 Introduction
The 1950s and 1960s were years of great importance in the world of
macromolecules, both synthetic and natural. In this issue, we honor the sixtieth
anniversary of Hermann Staudinger’s Nobel Prize, which he received “for his
discoveries in the field of macromolecular chemistry” (http://www.nobelprize.
org/nobel_prizes/chemistry/laureates/1953/ Accessed 28 June 2013). Among the
many discoveries in chemistry in the twentieth century that tremendously changed
human life, synthetic macromolecules such as plastics, resins, and elastomers have
probably had, and continue to have, the biggest impact in the daily life of billions of
humans.
In the same year as Staudinger received his Nobel Prize, Watson, Crick, Wilkins,
and Franklins uncovered the double-helical hierarchical assembly of DNA,
for which some of them received the Nobel Prize in physiology and medicine in
1962 (http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/1962/ Accessed
28 June 2013). Linus Pauling, another Nobel laureate in chemistry, received
his Prize in 1954 for “his research into the nature of the chemical bond and its
application to the elucidation of the structure of complex substances” (http://www.
nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/chemistry/laureates/1954/). A few years prior -in 1950/
1951- Pauling, Corey, and Branson deciphered the nature of helices and sheets in
proteins [1, 2]. Perutz and Kendrew used these structural clues to unravel the 3D
structure of proteins, namely myoglobin and hemoglobin for the first time in 1958.
Another Nobel Prize in chemistry was due (http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_
prizes/chemistry/laureates/1962/ Accessed 28 June 2013). Only 5 years later, Robert
Bruce Merrifield made a contribution, which is still the bread and butter of thousands
of chemists, biologists, and other researchers in the life sciences [3]. Accordingly,
Merrifield received the Nobel Prize in chemistry for developing the most important
tool for the non-biological synthesis of sequence-specific (macro)molecules such as
peptides, small proteins, and oligonucleotides (http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_
prizes/chemistry/laureates/1984/ Accessed 28 June 2013).
Considering hierarchical structures, proteins are among the most versatile
polymers nature has to offer. To describe the complex protein structure, four
different levels of hierarchy are used. The primary structure describes the sequence
of the building blocks, amino acids. The nature of the peptide bond (in combination
390
N. Gangloff and R. Luxenhofer
5.1 Sheets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 406
5.2 Superhelices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 407
5.3 Nanotubes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 408
5.4 Worm-like Micelles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 410
6 Conclusion and Outlook . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 410
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 411
1 Introduction
The 1950s and 1960s were years of great importance in the world of
macromolecules, both synthetic and natural. In this issue, we honor the sixtieth
anniversary of Hermann Staudinger’s Nobel Prize, which he received “for his
discoveries in the field of macromolecular chemistry” (http://www.nobelprize.
org/nobel_prizes/chemistry/laureates/1953/ Accessed 28 June 2013). Among the
many discoveries in chemistry in the twentieth century that tremendously changed
human life, synthetic macromolecules such as plastics, resins, and elastomers have
probably had, and continue to have, the biggest impact in the daily life of billions of
humans.
In the same year as Staudinger received his Nobel Prize, Watson, Crick, Wilkins,
and Franklins uncovered the double-helical hierarchical assembly of DNA,
for which some of them received the Nobel Prize in physiology and medicine in
1962 (http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/1962/ Accessed
28 June 2013). Linus Pauling, another Nobel laureate in chemistry, received
his Prize in 1954 for “his research into the nature of the chemical bond and its
application to the elucidation of the structure of complex substances” (http://www.
nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/chemistry/laureates/1954/). A few years prior -in 1950/
1951- Pauling, Corey, and Branson deciphered the nature of helices and sheets in
proteins [1, 2]. Perutz and Kendrew used these structural clues to unravel the 3D
structure of proteins, namely myoglobin and hemoglobin for the first time in 1958.
Another Nobel Prize in chemistry was due (http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_
prizes/chemistry/laureates/1962/ Accessed 28 June 2013). Only 5 years later, Robert
Bruce Merrifield made a contribution, which is still the bread and butter of thousands
of chemists, biologists, and other researchers in the life sciences [3]. Accordingly,
Merrifield received the Nobel Prize in chemistry for developing the most important
tool for the non-biological synthesis of sequence-specific (macro)molecules such as
peptides, small proteins, and oligonucleotides (http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_
prizes/chemistry/laureates/1984/ Accessed 28 June 2013).
Considering hierarchical structures, proteins are among the most versatile
polymers nature has to offer. To describe the complex protein structure, four
different levels of hierarchy are used. The primary structure describes the sequence
of the building blocks, amino acids. The nature of the peptide bond (in combination
390
N. Gangloff and R. Luxenhofer