Scope and Applications of Amide Ligation of Hydroxyamines

University Of California-Riverside, Riverside CA

Investigators

Abstract

With this New award, the Chemical Synthesis Program supports Professor Michael C. Pirrung of the University of California-Riverside in a project investigating reactions that add an amino acid to a peptide chain, thus extending the chain. Three different amino acids will be employed in these reactions, which build peptide chains. This project focuses on broadening the methods available for building peptides and proteins. Such reactions are of far reaching importance in diverse areas of organic and biological chemistry. Hence, these methods will expand the synthetic toolboxes of a wide range of researchers in the biomedical sciences. This project will also provide training in organic synthesis and peptide chemistry to students, from undergraduates to post-doctorals, including those from groups historically underrepresented in the sciences. The project will study peptide bond forming reactions between serine and mildly activated C-terminal peptide esters. These reactions, which will be extended to threonine and homoserine, will expand the scope of peptide forming reactions and help to alleviate problems of concentration and scalability. The viability of the method will be tested through the synthesis of naturally occurring peptide sequences.