Hydrogen-bond energetics drive helix formation in membrane interfaces

► Partitioning of unfolded peptides to the membrane interface is generally unfavorable ► Helix formation reduces the partitioning free energy by ΔGres per residue ► ΔGres is independent of the hydrophobic moment of amphipathic α-helical peptides ► ΔGres is ascribed to formation of backbone hydrogen bonds ► The best estimate ΔGres is − 0.37 ± 0.02 (SEM) kcal mol− 1