Polyesters are biodegradable analogues of polypeptides, but their biochemical applications have been hampered by the lack of a method to analyze polyester conformation in a solution state. We have demonstrated that vibrational circular dichroism (VCD) spectroscopy can conveniently and accurately elucidate the conformation of polyesters through the studies on poly(l-lactic acid) (PLLA), PLLA-amylose complex, and oligo(l-lactic acid). The analysis of VCD exciton couplet of these molecules has clarified the stable left-handed helical structure of PLLA, while density functional theory calculations of oligo(l-lactic acid) have revealed its detailed structural nature.

The functions of biomacromolecules are largely governed by their stereostructure (i.e., configuration and conformation). Therefore, detailed understanding of their structural properties should help in regulating the functions of artificial macromolecules. However, studying the stereostructure of a molecule in the solution state is typically difficult due to the lack of suitable analytical techniques. Vibrational circular dichroism (VCD) spectroscopy, which measures circular dichroism in the infrared region, exhibits high sensitivity toward molecular stereostructures. In this paper, we first discuss a method for the elucidation of the stereostructures of small to large molecules based on theoretical calculations of VCD. The rest of the paper is dedicated to the applications of a VCD exciton chirality method, a novel approach recently developed by the authors to interpret VCD data by observing a VCD couplet in the C = O stretching region, to various biomolecules such as peptides, carbohydrates, polyesters and lipids.

Oligo(lactic acid) is an ester-analogue of short oligoalanine sequence and adopts a rigid left-handed helical structure. In this study, oligo(lactic acid) was incorporated into oligoalanine sequences and their conformations were studied by vibrational circular dichroism and electronic circular dichroism spectroscopy. The results suggested that oligo(lactic acid) moiety in these sequences maintains a left-handed helix and increases the conformational propensity of the oligoalanine moiety to form a left-handed polyproline type II-like helix. The importance of the chirality of oligo(lactic acid) moiety for the oligoalanine conformation was also studied. The results obtained in this study should be useful in developing ester-containing oligopeptides that function better than normal peptides.