Peptide delta-Turn: Literature Survey and Recent Progress

Among the various types of alpha-peptide folding motifs, delta-turn, which requires a central cis-amide disposition, has been one of the least extensively investigated. In particular, this main-chain reversal topology has been studied in-depth neither in linear/cyclic peptides nor in proteins. This Minireview article assembles and critically analyzes relevant data from a literature survey on the delta-turn conformation in those compounds. Unpublished results from recent conformational energy calculations and a preliminary solution-state analysis on a small model peptide, currently ongoing in our laboratories, are also briefly outlined.