A helical, prehairpin trimer covering the majority of the HR1 region of human immunodeficiency virus gp41 was achieved by chemically coupling three identical 51 amino acid peptides. A 1,3,5-tris(aminomethyl)-2,4,6-triethylbenzene pinwheel 'cap' was used to trimerize the peptides by taking advantage of the unique property of triacyl fluoride and orthogonal protection and deprotection. The resulting protein is fully helical, highly thermostable and soluble.
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