The Statistical Point of View on Solid Phase Reactions

2 The Statistical Point of View on Solid Phase Reactions 

Behind the elegance and the ingenious simplicity of Merrifield s idea of peptide synthesis a serious problem is hiding, which is inherent in the principle itself, namely the demand for completion of all chemical reactions on solid phase [51]. 

The interpretation of the problem depends upon some statistical aspects of chemical transformations on insoluble polymers. Contrary to the homogeneous situation in real dis- 

The yield y(%) of each cycle c of a synthesis of n stages may deviate from complete conversions (100%) in a constant failure of f(%), 

The product composition after n cycles c of the synthesis is then described by the binominial expression, 

---