Abstract
An expression for the energy of chiral interaction between polypeptide molecules in a solution is obtained using the general theory of van der Waals-Lifshitz forces between macromolecules. The resulting chiral interaction potential is a function of the anisotropic permittivity and optical activity of the polypeptide molecule and of the solvent dielectric constant. An expression for the effective optical activity of a chiral macromolecule embedded in dielectric media is also obtained. A statistical theory of cholesteric polypeptide liquid crystals is presented taking into account both steric and chiral dispersion interactions between polypeptide molecules. The theory accounts for the helix inversion in polypeptide liquid crystals, induced by a change in temperature and a change in the solvent dielectric constant. In particular the results of the theory allow the explanation of the twofold cholesteric sense inversion observed recently in the lyotropic liquid crystal formed by poly-γ-benzyl-L-glutamate in mixed solvents.
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