Peptides synthesis, requirements

Peptide synthesis requires the use of selective protecting groups. An N-protected amino acid with a free carboxyl group is coupled to an O-protected amino acid with a free amino group in the presence of dicydohexvlcarbodi-imide (DCC). Amide formation occurs, the protecting groups are removed, and the sequence is repeated. Amines are usually protected as their teit-butoxy-carbonyl (Boc) derivatives, and acids are protected as esters. This synthetic sequence is often carried out by the Merrifield solid-phase method, in which the peptide is esterified to an insoluble polymeric support. 

Standard solid-phase peptide synthesis requires the first (C-terminal) amino acid to be esterified with a polymeric alcohol. Partial racemization can occur during the esterification of N-protected amino acids with Wang resin or hydroxymethyl polystyrene [200,201]. /V-Fmoc amino acids are particularly problematic because the bases required to catalyze the acylation of alcohols can also lead to deprotection. A comparative study of various esterification methods for the attachment of Fmoc amino acids to Wang resin [202] showed that the highest loadings with minimal racemization can be achieved under Mitsunobu conditions or by activation with 2,6-dichloroben-zoyl chloride (Experimental Procedure 13.5). iV-Fmoc amino acid fluorides in the presence of DMAP also proved suitable for the racemization-free esterification of Wang resin (Entry 1, Table 13.13). The most extensive racemization was observed when DMF or THF was used as solvent, whereas little or no racemization occurred in toluene or DCM [203]. 

Peptide synthesis requires the formation of amide bonds between the proper amino acids in the proper sequence. With simple acids and amines, we would form an amide bond simply by converting the acid to an activated derivative (such as an acyl halide or anhydride) and adding the amine. 

Peptide synthesis requires that the amino group of one amino acid and the carboxyl group of the other are protected so that only a desired coupling will take place. 

The Merrifield solid phase peptide synthesis requires the formation of an esterified resin as the first step. The substitution of an N-protected amino acid for a chloride in chloromethylated polystyrene must be quantitative or products which are one amino acid too short will ultimately be isolated. 18-Crown-6 has been shown to catalyze quantitative ester formation between the potassium salts of boc-amino acids and chloromethylated resin in DMF solution. Dichloromethane was reactive under these conditions [26]. The results of these displacement reactions according to equation 6.10 are presented in Table 6.8. 

Selective peptide synthesis requires protecting groups... 

The use of ohgosaccharide residues from natural sources in solid-phase peptide synthesis requires two steps, isolation in sufficient quantity and conversion into suitable building blocks. 

Development of conjugate and peptide vaccines requires the typical organic synthesis process and purification. This is a new area for vaccine technologists. Again, the main concern is to maintain the immunogenicity of the vaccine candidate during the chemical reaction and purification steps. 

The carboxamidomethyl ester was prepared for use in peptide synthesis. It is formed from the cesium salt of an A-protected amino acid and a-chloroacetamide (60-85% yield). It is cleaved with 0.5 M NaOH or NaHCOa in DMF/H2O. It is stable to the conditions required to remove BOC, Cbz, Fmoc, and r-butyl esters. It cannot be selectively cleaved in the presence of a benzyl ester of aspartic acid. ... 

Mercaptopyridine A-oxide, CH2CI2. A thousand fold excess of this reagent is required to achieve good yields for cleavage in solid-phase peptide synthesis. 

ELPs can be produced via chemical synthesis and biosynthetically. For chemical synthesis via solid phase peptide synthesis, the attainable polymer length is limited, and if long polymers with a defined length are required then the biosynthetic approach is more appropriate. An advantage of chemical synthesis is, however, that it enables the facile introduction of functional residues in the polypeptide [27]. 

The charging of the tRNA molecule with the aminoacyl moiety requires the hydrolysis of an ATP to an AMP, equivalent to the hydrolysis of two ATPs to two ADPs and phosphates. The entry of the aminoacyl-tRNA into the A site results in the hydrolysis of one GTP to GDP. Translocation of the newly formed pep-tidyl-tRNA in the A site into the P site by EF2 similarly results in hydrolysis of GTP to GDP and phosphate. Thus, the energy requirements for the formation of one peptide bond include the equivalent of the hydrolysis of two ATP molecules to ADP and of two GTP molecules to GDP, or the hydrolysis of four high-energy phosphate bonds. A eukaryotic ribosome can incorporate as many as six amino acids per second prokaryotic ribosomes incorporate as many as 18 per second. Thus, the process of peptide synthesis occurs with great speed and accuracy until a termination codon is reached. 

More recently, Somfai and coworkers have reported on the efficient coupling of a set of carboxylic acids suitable as potential scaffolds for peptide synthesis to a polymer-bound hydrazide linker [24]. Indole-like scaffolds were selected for this small library synthesis as these structures are found in numerous natural products showing interesting activities. The best results were obtained using 2-(7-aza-l H-benzo-triazol-l-yl)-l,l,3,3-tetramethyluronium hexafluoride (HATU) and N,N-diisopropyl-ethylamine (DIEA) in N,N-dimethylformamide as a solvent. Heating the reaction mixtures at 180 °C for 10 min furnished the desired products in high yields (Scheme 7.4). In this application, no Fmoc protection of the indole nitrogen is required. 

Solid-phase peptide synthesis offers a fast and convenient route for many peptides when isotope-enriched compounds are not required. Classical synthesis additionally permits the use of non-natural amino acids and allows site-specific isotope labeling. Although Fmoc protected 15N-labeled amino adds are commercially available, the cost of such synthesis is usually prohibitive, and the peptides from chemical synthesis require perdeuterated detergents and unfortunately exclude investigation of internal dynamics through measurement of 15N relaxation. 

For such an integrated research activity, differently modified peptides and proteins that carry modifications whose structure can be changed at will through synthesis are invaluable tools. Therefore, the synthesis of the lipidated peptides is an important theme. Lipidated peptides can typically not be accessed via standardized peptide synthesis methods. However, employing the synthetic tools developed and presented here, most types of lipidated peptides can now be synthesized and obtained in pure form. Even though solution-phase approaches still play a significant role in the synthesis of lipidated peptides, the recently developed solid-phase synthesis methods delineate the preferred strategy to access the majority of the required lipidated peptides. 

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