Recently we described a
-decapeptide (
53-1) that folds into a 14-helix in aqueous solution, binds the oncoprotein hDM2 with submicromolar affinity, and inhibits the interaction of hDM2 with a peptide derived from the activation domain of p53 (p53AD). The solution structure of
53-1 in CD
3OH revealed an unexpected C-terminal unwinding that staggers the side chains comprising the hDM2 recognition epitope to better mimic those of p53AD. The structure-function relationship implied by this distortion suggested that a library of
53-1 analogues possessing diversity along a nonrecognition face might contain molecules possessing greater affinity for hDM2. Here we describe (1)
-peptide synthesis protocols that produce high quality one-bead-one-
-peptide libraries suitable for on-bead screening without purification, (2) a versatile, scalable on-bead screen, and (3) a simple tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) decoding method. Using this procedure, we identified
53-1 analogues with improved structural and functional properties.