Peptide superstructures speed up Michael reaction

A photo of mess of blue and orange fibres that look like a shaggy carpet

Source: © Science Photo Library

A tripeptide that self-assembles into a supramolecular fibres accelerates an asymmetric benchmark reaction by up to 74%

Supramolecular assemblies of simple tripeptides accelerate an asymmetric reaction, researchers have discovered. ‘These [tripeptides] self-assemble into fibrils, supramolecular structures that… speed up a Michael reaction,’ explains Armando Carlone, from University of L’Aquila, Italy, who led the study.