Introduction amino acids

It is not only the activity that can be altered by incorporation of noncoded amino acids. Introduction of structures possessing certain chemical functions leads to the possibility of highly regioselective modification of enzymes. For example, selective enzymatic modification of cystein residues with compounds containing azide groups has led to the preparation of enzymes that could be selectively immobilized using click chemistry methods [99]. 

An excellent example of nnnatnral amino acid introduction via a synthetic techniqne may be found in work performed on the protease subtilisin. Chemical conversion of a catalytically active serine to a selenocysteine altered the catalytic activity... 

Metabolism of Other Aliphatic Amino Acids Introduction... 

Sensitivity levels more typical of kinetic studies are of the order of lO molecules cm . A schematic diagram of an apparatus for kinetic LIF measurements is shown in figure C3.I.8. A limitation of this approach is that only relative concentrations are easily measured, in contrast to absorjDtion measurements, which yield absolute concentrations. Another important limitation is that not all molecules have measurable fluorescence, as radiationless transitions can be the dominant decay route for electronic excitation in polyatomic molecules. However, the latter situation can also be an advantage in complex molecules, such as proteins, where a lack of background fluorescence allow s the selective introduction of fluorescent chromophores as probes for kinetic studies. (Tryptophan is the only strongly fluorescent amino acid naturally present in proteins, for instance.)... 

Fmoc-N3, NaHC03, aq. dioxane, 88-98% yield.This reagent reacts more slowly with amino acids than does the acid chloride. It is not the most safe method for Fmoc introduction because of the azide. 

The World Wide Web has transformed the way in which we obtain and analyze published information on proteins. What only a few years ago would take days or weeks and require the use of expensive computer workstations can now be achieved in a few minutes or hours using personal computers, both PCs and Macintosh, connected to the internet. The Web contains hundreds of sites of Interest to molecular biologists, many of which are listed in Pedro s BioMolecular Research Tools (http // www.fmi.ch/biology/research tools.html). Many sites provide free access to databases that make it very easy to obtain information on structurally related proteins, the amino acid sequences of homologous proteins, relevant literature references, medical information and metabolic pathways. This development has opened up new opportunities for even non-specialists to view and manipulate a structure of interest or to carry out amino-acid sequence comparisons, and one can now rapidly obtain an overview of a particular area of molecular biology. We shall here describe some Web sites that are of interest from a structural point of view. Updated links to these sites can be found in the Introduction to Protein Structure Web site (http // WWW.ProteinStructure.com/). 

Introduction of an electron-withdrawing carboxy function at the x-carbon produces particularly reactive A-acyliminium ions, the so-called glycine cation equivalents, which are of great utility for the synthesis of x-amino acids. 

In y-alkoxyfuranones the acetal functionality is ideally suited for the introduction of a chiral auxiliary simultaneously high 71-face selectivity may be obtained due to the relatively rigid structure that is present. With ( + )- or (—(-menthol as auxiliaries it is possible to obtain both (5S)- or (5/ )-y-menthyloxy-2(5//)-furanones in an enantiomerically pure form293. When the auxiliary acts as a bulky substituent, as in the case with the 1-menthyloxy group, the addition of enolates occurs trans to the y-alkoxy substituent. The chiral auxiliary is readily removed by hydrolysis and various optically active lactones, protected amino acids and hydroxy acids are accessible in this way294-29s-400. 

A modified 1,4 diketone 17 was employed for the microwave-assisted preparation of amino acids containing the pyrrole ring (Scheme 6). The products were further employed for the introduction of this original moiety into a peptide sequence [33]. 

The finding that substantial 2.5-helicity may be retained in water upon the introduction of a limited number of acyclic or y9 -amino acid residues at chosen positions in the sequence, further expand the side-chain array available for functionalization of the 2.5-helical scaffold. In water, y9-heptapeptides 107 and 108 which contain two -amino acid residues [184a] and two y9 -amino acids [184b], respectively, still display a CD spectrum and NOE coimectivities characteristic of the 2.5-helix. However, the addition of a third acycHc amino acid is detrimental to the formation of the 2.5-helix in water. 

Alternatively, rigidification of the y-peptide backbone to avoid H-bonds between nearest neighbors can be achieved by the introduction of an a,y9-unsaturation into the backbone of each y-amino acid constituent (vinylogous peptides) ]208, 209]. Recent ab-initio calculations suggested that the a,/9-unsaturated y-peptide backbone might support the formation of helices with large 19- and 22-membered H-bonded pseudocycles ]221]. 

Initial approaches to directed evolution of enzymes rested upon the introduction of random mutations in random sites of the enzyme by the use of the error-prone PCR technique [92] or on the DNA-shuffling method [93]. Extensive research has also been reported in which every amino acid site in an enzyme was systematically subjected to saturation mutagenesis [94]. 

Introduction of Nonproteinogenic Amino Acids - Toward More Selective, Stable, and Easily Handled Biocatalysts... 

The main apohpoprotein of LDL (P-lipopro-tein) is apohpoprotein B (B-lOO) and is found also in VLDL. Chylomicrons contain a truncated form of apo B (B-48) that is synthesized in the intestine, while B-lOO is synthesized in the hver. Apo B-lOO is one of the longest single polypeptide chains known, having 4536 amino acids and a molecular mass of 550,000 Da. Apo B-48 (48% of B-lOO) is formed from the same mRNA as apo B-lOO after the introduction of a stop signal by an RNA editing enzyme. Apo C-1, C-11, and C-111 are smaller polypeptides (molecular mass 7000— 9000 Da) freely transferable between several different hpoproteins. Apo E is foimd in VLDL, HDL, chylomicrons, and chylomicron remnants it accounts for 5— 10% of total VLDL apohpoproteins in normal subjects. 

After the introduction of C-labels into the protein or glycoprotein molecule, the ability to assign the resonances to specific carbon atoms is essential. In the case of glycophorin (see Fig. 1), it may readily be seen that 5 lysine residues and 1 N-terminal amino acid (per species) can be reduc-tively di[ C]methylated. This could theoretically lead to 6 resonances (or possibly more, if chemical-shift nonequivalence is observed for the dimethyl species) in the C spectrum of methylated glycophorin A. However, in most cases, the N, N -di[ C]methyllysine resonances all occur near, or at, the same frequency. It is then necessary to be able at least to assign, or... 

Adamantane can be used to construct peptidic scaffolding and synthesis of artificial proteins. It has been introduced into different types of synthetic peptidic macrocycles, which are useful tools in peptide chemistry and stereochemistry studies and have many other applications as well. Introduction of amino acid-functionalized adamantane to the DNA nanostmctures might lead to construction of DNA-adamantane-amino acid nanostmctures with desirable stiffness and integrity. Diamondoids can be employed to constmct molecular rods, cages, and containers and also for utilization in different methods of self-assembly. In fact, through the development of self-assembly approaches and utilization of diamondoids in these processes, it would be possible to design and constmct novel nanostmctures for effective and specific carriers for each dmg. 

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