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Soo Hyuk Choi

Yonsei University · Materials Science

About the Lab

Professor Soo Hyuk Choi's research lab specializes in the design, synthesis, and structural characterization of foldamers—particularly α/β-peptides and β-peptides—focusing on their unique helical secondary structures. The lab investigates how backbone topology, residue stereochemistry, and ring constraints (such as in cyclopentane and cyclohexane derivatives) govern conformational stability and folding behavior. Using advanced techniques like X-ray crystallography and NMR spectroscopy, the group explores the structural diversity of helices such as the 11-helix, 14/15-helix, 12-helix, and 12/10-helix, aiming to understand and control their folding patterns for potential applications in biomimetic materials and functional peptides.

foldamersα/β-peptideshelical structuresβ-peptidesconformational analysis

Research Overview

Papers
122
Total Citations
1,436
Papers (5y)
19
Primary Field
Materials Science

Research Output Trend

Figures are computed from collected data and may differ slightly.

Publications per year (5y)
19total
2022
2023
2024
2025
2026
Citations per year (5y)
17total
20222023202420252026

Selected Papers

15
1
Article|97 citations·2008
Crystallographic Characterization of Helical Secondary Structures in α/β-Peptides with 1:1 Residue Alternation
Soo Hyuk Choi, Ilia A. Guzei, L.C. Spencer, Samuel H. Gellman
SJR Q1Journal of the American Chemical Society

Oligomers that contain both alpha- and beta-amino acid residues in a 1:1 alternating pattern have recently been shown by several groups to adopt helical secondary structures in solution. The beta-residue substitution pattern has a profound effect on the type of helix formed and the stability of the helical conformation. On the basis of two-dimensional NMR data, we have previously proposed that beta-residues with a five-membered ring constraint promote two different types of alpha/beta-peptide he

Molecular BiologyBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology
2
Article|62 citations·2007
Crystallographic Characterization of the α/β-Peptide 14/15-Helix
Soo Hyuk Choi, Ilia A. Guzei, Samuel H. Gellman
SJR Q1Journal of the American Chemical Society

We report the first high-resolution structural data for the 14/15-helix, a secondary structure that is formed by oligomers with a 1:1 alternation of α- and β-amino acid residues. Previously, we concluded from NMR data that short α/β-peptides containing cyclopentane-constrained β-residues display rapid interconversion between two helical folding patterns, the 11-helix ( i, i +3 C O···H−N H-bonds) and the 14/15-helix ( i, i +4 C O···H−N H-bonds). Subsequent work in other laboratories, however, has

Molecular BiologyBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology
3
Article|61 citations·2009
Crystallographic Characterization of Helical Secondary Structures in 2:1 and 1:2 α/β-Peptides
Soo Hyuk Choi, Ilia A. Guzei, L.C. Spencer, Samuel H. Gellman
SJR Q1Journal of the American Chemical Society

Oligomers containing both alpha- and beta-amino acid residues ("alpha/beta-peptides") are intriguing as potential foldamers. A large set of alpha/beta-peptide backbones can be generated by combining alpha- and beta-amino acid residues in different patterns; however, most research to date has focused on the simplest pattern, 1:1 alpha:beta. We have begun to explore the range of variation that can be achieved with alpha-residue/beta-residue combinations by examining the folding behavior of oligome

Molecular BiologyBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology
4
Article|43 citations·2013
Structural Characterization of α/β‐Peptides having Alternating Residues: X‐ray Structures of the 11/9‐Helix from Crystals of Racemic Mixtures
Mihye Lee, Jihyun Shim, Philjae Kang, Ilia A. Guzei, Soo Hyuk Choi
SJR Q1Angewandte Chemie International Edition

Twisted (crystal)sisters: The structures of the α/β-peptide 11/9-helix were determined by single-crystal X-ray crystallography. The racemic compounds adopt centrosymmetric crystal packing, and display fully folded 11/9-helical conformations. The helical parameters of the 11/9-helix are analogous to those of the 310-helix, despite different hydrogen-bonding types. As a service to our authors and readers, this journal provides supporting information supplied by the authors. Such materials are peer

Molecular BiologyBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology
5
Article|42 citations·2010
Crystallographic Characterization of 12-Helical Secondary Structure in β-Peptides Containing Side Chain Groups
Soo Hyuk Choi, Ilia A. Guzei, L.C. Spencer, Samuel H. Gellman
SJR Q1Journal of the American Chemical Society

Helices are the most extensively studied secondary structures formed by β-peptide foldamers. Among the five known β-peptide helices, the 12-helix is particularly interesting because the internal hydrogen bond orientation and macrodipole are analogous to those of α-peptide helices (α-helix and 3(10)-helix). The β-peptide 12-helix is defined by i, i+3 C═O···H-N backbone hydrogen bonds and promoted by β-residues with a five-membered ring constraint. The 12-helical scaffold has been used to generate

Molecular BiologyBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology
6
Article|38 citations·2016
12/10-Helical β-Peptide with Dynamic Folding Propensity: Coexistence of Right- and Left-Handed Helices in an Enantiomeric Foldamer
Seonho Shin, Mihye Lee, Ilia A. Guzei, Young Kee Kang, Soo Hyuk Choi
SJR Q1Journal of the American Chemical Society

We present the first examples of atomic-resolution crystal data for the β-peptide 12/10-helix from oligomers of cis-2-aminocyclohexane carboxylic acid (cis-ACHC) with alternating chirality. The local conformations of two enantiomeric cis-ACHC dimer units suggested that a chiral β-peptide may adopt both right-handed and left-handed helical conformations in solution. To probe the conformational behavior of 12/10-helical β-peptides, the two reference helices with a single handedness were synthesize

Molecular BiologyBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology
7
Article|24 citations·2013
Structural Characterization of Peptide Oligomers Containing (1R,2S)‐2‐Aminocyclohexanecarboxylic Acid (cis‐ACHC)
Soo Hyuk Choi, Monika Ivancic, Ilia A. Guzei, Samuel H. Gellman
SJR Q2European Journal of Organic Chemistry

Abstract (1 R ,2 S )‐2‐Aminocyclohexanecarboxylic acid ( cis ‐ACHC) is a preorganized β‐amino acid. cis ‐ACHC favors two conformations that feature gauche conformations about the C α –C β bond with torsion angles of opposite signs. The diastereomeric β‐amino acid trans ‐ACHC has been widely studied as a foldamer building block, but cis ‐ACHC has received less attention in this regard. We examined the conformational behaviour of three types of oligomer: (1) homooligomers of cis ‐ACHC, (2) β‐pepti

Molecular BiologyBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology
8
Article|17 citations·2016
Stabilization of 11/9-helical α/β-peptide foldamers in protic solvents
Mihye Lee, Jihyun Shim, Philjae Kang, Moon‐Gun Choi, Soo Hyuk Choi
SJR Q1Chemical Communications

α/β-Peptides with alternating α-amino acid and cis-2-aminocyclohexanecarboxylic acid (cis-ACHC) residues adopt 11/9-helical conformations, the folding propensity of which decreases as the solvent polarity increases. We report a new cis-ACHC analogue, cis-2-amino-cis-4-methylcyclohexanecarboxylic acid, which significantly stabilizes the 11/9-helix propensity in protic solvents.

Molecular BiologyBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology
9
Article|17 citations·2014
Helical folding of α/β-peptides containing β-amino acids with an eight-membered ring constraint
Woohyung Lee, Sunmi Kwon, Philjae Kang, Ilia A. Guzei, Soo Hyuk Choi
SJR Q2Organic & Biomolecular Chemistry

αβα-Tripeptide that contains a cyclic β-amino acid with an eight-membered ring, a cis-2-aminocyclooct-5-enecarboxylic acid (cis-ACOE) or a cis-2-aminocyclooctanecarboxylic acid (cis-ACOC) displayed an 11/9-helical turn in the crystal state. The related α/β-peptide oligomers were shown to adopt 11/9-helical conformations in solution.

Molecular BiologyBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology
10
Article|15 citations·2012
3-(N-Arylsulfamoyl)benzamides, inhibitors of human sirtuin type 2 (SIRT2)
Soo Hyuk Choi, Luisa Quinti, Aleksey Kazantsev, Richard B. Silverman
SJR Q2Bioorganic & Medicinal Chemistry LettersOA
Geriatrics and GerontologyMedicine
11
Article|10 citations·2015
cis-2-Aminocyclohex-4-enecarboxylic acid as a new building block of helical foldamers
Sunmi Kwon, Philjae Kang, Moon‐Gun Choi, Soo Hyuk Choi
SJR Q2New Journal of Chemistry

<italic>cis</italic>-2-Aminocyclohex-4-enecarboxylic acid can promote the α/β-peptide 11/9-helix in solution and in the crystal state.

Molecular BiologyBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology
12
Article|10 citations·2017
Side chain-specific 11/9-helix propensity of α/β-peptides with alternating residue types
Jaeyeon Lee, Jihyun Shim, Philjae Kang, Moon‐Gun Choi, Soo Hyuk Choi
SJR Q2Organic & Biomolecular Chemistry

-residue in the 11/9-helical structure had a slight destabilizing effect, which could be compensated by a longer peptide sequence with more cyclic β-residues. These results provide a guidance for incorporating functional groups into an 11/9-helical α/β-peptide backbone to design functional oligomers.

Molecular BiologyBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology
13
Article|10 citations·2013
Structural Characterization of α/β‐Peptides having Alternating Residues: X‐ray Structures of the 11/9‐Helix from Crystals of Racemic Mixtures
Mihye Lee, Jihyun Shim, Philjae Kang, Ilia A. Guzei, Soo Hyuk Choi
Angewandte Chemie

Mit Röntgen-Kristallographie wurden Strukturen der α/β-Peptid-11/9-Helix bestimmt. Die racemischen Verbindungen zeigen eine zentrosymmetrische Kristallpackung mit vollständig gefalteten 11/9-Helixkonformationen. Abgesehen von den unterschiedlichen Wasserstoffbrücken sind die Parameter der 11/9-Helix analog zu denen der 310-Helix. As a service to our authors and readers, this journal provides supporting information supplied by the authors. Such materials are peer reviewed and may be re-organized

Molecular BiologyBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology
14
Article|5 citations·2023
Exploring a β-Amino Acid with a Seven-Membered Ring Constraint as a Foldamer Building Block for Nontraditional Helices
Nuri Seo, Hoyang Son, Yonghan Kim, Ilia A. Guzei, Philjae Kang, Soo Hyuk Choi
SJR Q1Organic Letters

We explored trans - and cis -2-aminocycloheptanecarboxylic acid (ACHpC) as potential building blocks for helical foldamers. trans -ACHpC does not show sufficient folding propensity in unnatural peptides. cis -ACHpC promotes nontraditional helices of two unnatural peptide backbones: the 11/9-helix for 1:1 α/β-peptides and the 12/10-helix for β-peptides with interconvertible handedness. The two opposite-handed 12/10-helices rapidly interconvert in solution by pseudorotation of the two twist chair

Molecular BiologyBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology
15
Article|4 citations·2013
Helical structures of unnatural peptides for biological applications
Soo Hyuk Choi
SJR Q2Biomedical Engineering Letters
Molecular BiologyBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology

Research Areas

Materials ChemistryMolecular BiologyAtomic and Molecular Physics, and OpticsGeriatrics and GerontologyCellular and Molecular NeuroscienceInorganic Chemistry

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