Branched Poly(proline) Peptides: An Efficient New Approach to the Synthesis of Repetitive Branched Peptides
摘要:
Proline is unique among the twenty genetically coded amino acids in that it contains both a cyclic backbone and a secondary alpha-amino group, These structural features impart unique stereochemical properties on proline. Poly(proline) oligomers exist in two distinct conformations in solution. In organic solvents they tend to adopt a conformation known as poly(proline) I (PPI), whereas in aqueous solvents they tend to adopt a different conformation known as poly(proline) II (PPII). We report here a new family of branched poly(proline) peptides. After a careful study of the different approaches, an efficient protocol for the synthesis of this kind of peptide has been established. cis-4-Amino-L-proline was mainly used as a branching unit in order to minimize its effects on the conformation of the rest of the molecule. The synthetic strategy employed was based on a convergent solid-phase peptide synthesis methodology that gave crude peptides that were easy to purify. This approach provides a new method for the synthesis of other repetitive branched peptides, minimizing not only synthetic difficulties but also purification problems. (C) Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH, 69451 Weinheim, Germany, 2002.