Conformational Energy Calculations on Enkephalins and Enkephalin Analogs:

Conformational energy calculations were carried out on the peptide enkaphalins (ENK) and selected analogs to find those conformers of low energy. The analogs studied include [D-Ala2]Enk-NH2, [D-Ala2]Enk, [D-Met2, Pro5]Enk-NH2, [D-Ala2, D-Phe5]Enk, [D-Ala2, D-Leu5]Enk, [D-Ala2, (N-Me)Phe4, Met5] Enk-NH2 and [D-Ala2, (N-Me)Met5]Enk-NH2. When the low-energy conformers for all the analogs are compared, different allowed backbone conformations are found which orient the functional side-chains such that three classifications of structures appear. Each classification shows a unique configuration of side-chain positions in space even though different backbone conformations are found within each classification.