Bis-pyrene probes of foldamer conformation in solution and in phospholipid bilayers.

Exploring the detailed structural features of synthetic molecules in the membrane phase requires sensitive probes of conformation. Here we describe the design, synthesis and characterization of bis(pyrene) probes that report conformational changes in membrane-active dynamic foldamers. The probes were designed to distinguish between left-handed () and right-handed () screw-sense conformers of 3-helical α-aminoisobutyric acid (Aib) peptide foldamers, both in solution and in bilayer membranes.