10 - 19F-Labeled amino acids for NMR structure analysis of membrane-bound peptides

Abstract

Solid-state 19F-NMR is a valuable tool in structural studies of membrane-associated peptides. Progress in this area became possible after successful design and synthesis of the fluorine-contained amino acids suitable to substitute natural amino acid residues in the peptides without compromising their structure and properties. These amino acids (labels) are incorporated into the molecules of the studied peptides and provide structural constraints for the labeled peptides embedded into oriented lipid bilayers under quasinatural conditions. The chapter overviews the literature on the design, synthesis, and validation of the labels. Recent examples of the label applications to study membrane-active peptides are given.