Peptide fragments, activity preparation

This reaction was exploited by Pass, Amit and Patchornik to directly couple two peptide fragments (Scheme 13.30) [117]. However, one of the main issues to date has been the preparation of such activable amino acids. Two approaches (which, unfortunately, are limited in their scope) are nitration of the parent indoline derivative after acylation with the amino acid, or use of the amino acid chloride prepared in situ. 

Fragment coupling method was first applied to glycopeptide 11 (Scheme 3). The C-terminal peptide 12 was prepared by traditional solution-phase synthesis, while the activated -terminal glycopeptide 13 was prepared by solution-phase synthesis with solid-phase workup as described. The coupling between 12 and 13 was achieved in NMP and the product was readily isolated by precipitation. Target glycopeptide 11 was obtained in 89% overall yield (28). 

Silyl esters are stable to nonaqueous reaction conditions, but are often too labile to mild acid or base or even neutral aqueous media to survive many simple manipulations. Thus, they have not found wide application in peptide synthesis. Due to easy formation and cleavage they may play an important role as intermediates in the synthesis of amino acid derivatives and for temporary carboxy protection in the preparation of small peptide fragments. The TMS group has been used for the solubilization of H-Arg-OH for the synthesis of Z-Arg(Z2)-OHP l and in the synthesis of Al -Nps- and Al -Tfa-protected amino acids.P Amino acid trimethylsilyl esters as well as the related A1 -TMS derivatives react rapidly with acylating agents and are used for the preparation of peptides with amino acid active esters, e.g. A-hydroxysuccinimide-, 4-nitrophenyl-, or 2,4,5-trichlorophenyl esters, or mixed anhydrides. 

Nitrophenyl, pentachlorophenyl, and 2,4,5-trichlorophenyl esters have been used for carboxy protection in the so-called backing-offf °l approach, illustrated in the preparation of several activated peptide fragments for convergent peptide syntheses. 

Few microbial proteases acting on n-peptides are known. The alkaline D-peptidase (ADP) from Bacillus cereus is related to Du-carboxypeptidase and p-lactamases. These enz unes have an accessible groove in which the nucleophilic serine and other catalytic amino acids are located. This n-peptidase could be applied for the synthesis of the 92-amino acid peptidyl prolyl cis-trans isomerase from Escherichia coli by condensation of two peptide fragments, of which the 35-amino acid acyl donor was activated as the OGp ester [62]. Thus the D-amino acid-selective enzyme was used for preparing a protein composed of L-amino acids and making the product insensitive to hydrolysis by the coupling enzyme. 

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