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Review
. 2021 Nov 9;22(22):12122.
doi: 10.3390/ijms222212122.

The Importance of 6-Aminohexanoic Acid as a Hydrophobic, Flexible Structural Element

Agnieszka Markowska  1 , Adam Roman Markowski  2 , Iwona Jarocka-Karpowicz  1
Affiliations
Review

The Importance of 6-Aminohexanoic Acid as a Hydrophobic, Flexible Structural Element

Agnieszka Markowska et al. Int J Mol Sci. .

Abstract

6-aminohexanoic acid is an ω-amino acid with a hydrophobic, flexible structure. Although the ω-amino acid in question is mainly used clinically as an antifibrinolytic drug, other applications are also interesting and important. This synthetic lysine derivative, without an α-amino group, plays a significant role in chemical synthesis of modified peptides and in the polyamide synthetic fibers (nylon) industry. It is also often used as a linker in various biologically active structures. This review concentrates on the role of 6-aminohexanoic acid in the structure of various molecules.

Keywords: 6-aminohexanoic acid; antifibrynolytics; linker.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Structure of 6-aminohexanoic acid.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Scheme of the plasminogen–plasmin system. Inactive plasminogen is converted into plasmin as a result of an action of plasminogen activators (natural: urokinase plasminogen activator or tissue plasminogen activator, or synthetic: streptokinase). Plasmin then enables the degradation of fibrinogen (a plasma protein) as well as the degradation of the fibrin clot into fibrin cleavage products. The unbound circulating fibrinogen is converted into fibrin clot by thrombin. The formation of plasmin from plasminogen can be inhibited by antifibrinolytic drugs (Ahx). The interaction of Ahx with plasminogen or plasmin, as well as plasmin with fibrin or fibrinogen, is mediated by lysine binding sites, not enzymatic active sites of plasmin. Green arrows = activation, red arrows = inhibition.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Ahx as fragment of molecules with biological activity.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Examples of structures using Ahx as linker in receptor affinity peptide structures.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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