Premium
Investigation of peptide thioester formation via N → Se acyl transfer
Author(s) -
Adams Anna L.,
Macmillan Derek
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
journal of peptide science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.475
H-Index - 66
eISSN - 1099-1387
pISSN - 1075-2617
DOI - 10.1002/psc.2469
Subject(s) - thioester , native chemical ligation , peptide , chemistry , cysteine , selenocysteine , peptide synthesis , residue (chemistry) , hydrolysis , combinatorial chemistry , chemical ligation , stereochemistry , solid phase synthesis , biochemistry , enzyme
Native chemical ligation is widely used for the convergent synthesis of proteins. The peptide thioesters required for this process can be challenging to produce, particularly when using Fmoc‐based solid‐phase peptide synthesis. We have previously reported a route to peptide thioesters, following Fmoc solid‐phase peptide synthesis, via an N → S acyl shift that is initiated by the presence of a C‐terminal cysteine residue, under mildly acidic conditions. Under typical reaction conditions, we occasionally observed significant thioester hydrolysis as a consequence of long reaction times (~48 h) and sought to accelerate the reaction. Here, we present a faster route to peptide thioesters, by replacing the C‐terminal cysteine residue with selenocysteine and initiating thioester formation via an N → Se acyl shift. This modification allows thioester formation to take place at lower temperatures and on shorter time scales. We also demonstrate how application of this strategy also accelerates peptide cyclization, when a linear precursor is furnished with an N‐terminal cysteine and C‐terminal selenocysteine. Copyright © 2013 European Peptide Society and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.