Effect of Secondary Structures on the Adsorption of Peptides onto Hydrophobic Solid Surfaces Revealed by SALDI-TOF and MD Simulations

[Image: see text] The adsorption of peptides and proteins on hydrophobic solid surfaces has received considerable research attention owing to their wide applications to biocompatible nanomaterials and nanodevices, such as biosensors and cell adhesion materials with reduced nanomaterial toxicity. However, fundamental understandings about physicochemical hydrophobic interactions between peptides and hydrophobic solid surfaces are still unknown. In this study, we investigate the effect of secondary structures on adsorption energies between peptides and hydrophobic solid surfaces via experimental and theoretical analyses using surface-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time-of-flight (SALDI-TOF) and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. The hydrophobic interactions between peptides and hydrophobic solid surfaces measured via SALDI-TOF and MD simulations indicate that the hydrophobic interaction of peptides with random coil structures increased more than that of peptides with an α-helix structure when polar amino acids are replaced with hydrophobic amino acids. Additionally, our study sheds new light on the fundamental understanding of the hydrophobic interaction between hydrophobic solid surfaces and peptides that have diverse secondary structures.