- Improved synthesis of unnatural amino acids for peptide stapling
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The procedures for the synthesis of various α-alkenyl and alkyne amino acids were systematically optimized in light of enhancing atom economy, reducing hazardous reagent usage, and simplifying workup. By starting with Boc-Pro-OH and coupling with EDCI/DMAP followed by alkylation, chiral auxiliary was synthesized with high yield and enantioselectivity. For alkylation of the chiral complex, tBuONa was found and proved by quantitative calculation to be superior to tBuOK in generating more nucleophilic enolate salt, thereby can significantly enhance yield under room temperature. Final Fmoc protection was also dramatically facilitated in one-pot sequential manner by adding EDTA-2Na as the nickel chelator. Synthesis of α-bisalkenyl amino acid was also accomplished by achiral complex approach with high yield and efficacy. Accordingly, five most commonly used N-Fmoc protected α-alkenyl and alkynyl amino acids were synthesized and characterized.
- Li, Bo,Zhang, Jie,Xu, Yongjuan,Yang, Xiaoxiao,Li, Li
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supporting information
p. 2374 - 2377
(2017/05/29)
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- STITCHED POLYPEPTIDES
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The present invention provides inventive stitched polypeptides, pharmaceutical compositions thereof, and methods of making and using inventive stitched polypeptides.
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- Stitched α-helical peptides via bis ring-closing metathesis
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Conformationally stabilized α-helical peptides are capable of inhibiting disease-relevant intracellular or extracellular protein-protein interactions in vivo. We have previously reported that the employment of ring-closing metathesis to introduce a single all-hydrocarbon staple along one face of an α-helical peptide greatly increases α-helical content, binding affinity to a target protein, cell penetration through active transport, and resistance to proteolytic degradation. In an effort to improve upon this technology for stabilizing a peptide in a bioactive α-helical conformation, we report the discovery of an efficient and selective bis ring-closing metathesis reaction leading to peptides bearing multiple contiguous staples connected by a central spiro ring junction. Circular dichroism spectroscopy, NMR, and computational analyses have been used to investigate the conformation of these stitched peptides, which are shown to exhibit remarkable thermal stabilities. Likewise, trypsin proteolysis assays confirm the achievement of a structural rigidity unmatched by peptides bearing a single staple. Furthermore, fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) and confocal microscopy assays demonstrate that stitched peptides display superior cell penetrating ability compared to their stapled counterparts, suggesting that this technology may be useful not only in the context of enhancing the drug-like properties of α-helical peptides but also in producing potent agents for the intracellular delivery of proteins and oligonucleotides.
- Hilinski, Gerard J.,Kim, Young-Woo,Hong, Jooyeon,Kutchukian, Peter S.,Crenshaw, Charisse M.,Berkovitch, Shaunna S.,Chang, Andrew,Ham, Sihyun,Verdine, Gregory L.
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supporting information
p. 12314 - 12322
(2014/12/10)
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