Deuterium NMR Studies of the Structure and Dynamics of Gramicidin.

The structure and dynamics of the membrane peptide gramicidin are investigated by deuterium NMR. A specific structural and dynamical question about the peptide backbone of gramicidin is investigated by deuterating the alpha carbon of the third alanine residue. Deuterium NMR experiments performed on this analog in oriented lipid bilayers indicate that the c_alpha- ^2H bond makes an angle relative to the helical axis that is in agreement with the bond angle predicted by the beta^{6.3} helical model. A second structural and dynamical question about the peptide backbone of gramicidin is investigated by deuterating the formyl group of two different analogs. Deuterium NMR experiments performed on these analogs show that the spectra of the two analogs are very similar. However, the analog possessing D-leucine as the second residue also appears to exist in a second, minor conformation which does not seem to exist for the analog possessing glycine as the second residue.