Recherches sur la formation et la transformation des esters LXXXIII [1]. Réactions de condensation et/ou de phosphorylation,en solution aqueuse,de divers composés organiques à fonctions ?OH,COOH, NH2, ou autres, à l'aide de polyphosphates linéaires ou cycliques

Amino acids and other derivatives are condensed in aqueous solutions in the presence of linear or cyclic polyphosphates (or other anhydrides of P acids). The best results are obtained in slightly alkaline media (pH 7.5 to 9.5). The reaction, which has been studied at 70°C and at room temperature, proceeds with relative ease even at room temperature. In the case of the cyclic polyphosphates, trimetaphosphate gave the best results as compared with tetra- and hexametaphosphate, and among the linear polyphosphates used the yields grew with the average length of the chain. The significance of this method of condensation as a general method and also in the context of chemical evolution is discussed. The author suggests that one of the pathways leading to the peptide bond formation involves the intermediate formation of aminoacyl phosphates or polyphosphates by the nucleophilic attack of the carboxylate group of the amino acid on the phosphorus of a linear or cyclic P? O? P bond, giving rise to the labile mixed anhydride, and subsequent nucleophilic attack of the amino nitrogen of a molecule of the amino acid, or of the aminoacyl phosphate already produced, on the C of the mixed anhydride with displacement of phosphate or polyphosphate and formation of a peptide bond. Other pathways may also involve the intermediate formation of phosphoramidates which may result from the reaction of amino groups (or ammonia) with trimetaphosphate in alkaline medium. Linear and cyclic polyphosphates (which are known to be phosphorylating agents of the OH (alcoholic) function in aqueous solutions at pH's above 7) phosphorylate serine, ethanolamine and threonine in aqueous solutions at pH 8–10 with yields up to 25%.     

Solid-phase synthesis of difficult peptide sequences at elevated temperatures: a critical comparison of microwave and conventional heating technologies

The Fmoc/t-Bu solid-phase synthesis of three difficult peptide sequences (a 9-mer, 15-mer, and 24-mer) was performed using N,N'-diisopropylcarbodiimide/1-hydroxybenzotriazole as coupling reagent on polystyrene, Tentagel, and ChemMatrix resins. In order to obtain an insight into the specific role of the elevated temperature and/or the electromagnetic field for peptide syntheses carried out using microwave irradiation, peptide couplings and Fmoc-deprotection steps were studied under microwave and conventionally heated conditions at the same temperature. While room temperature couplings/deprotections generally produced the difficult peptides in rather poor quality, excellent peptide purities were obtained using microwave heating at a temperature of 86 degrees C for both the coupling and deprotection steps in only 10 and 2.5 min reaction time, respectively. While for most amino acids no significant racemization was observed, the high coupling temperatures led to considerable levels of racemization for the sensitive amino acids His and Cys. It was demonstrated for all three peptide sequences that when performing the coupling/deprotection steps at the same reaction temperature using conventional heating, nearly identical results in terms of both peptide purity and racemization levels were obtained. It therefore appears that the main effect of microwave irradiation applied to solid-phase peptide synthesis is a purely thermal effect not related to the electromagnetic field.     

Intermolecular condensation products formed during the pyrolysis of peptides

Mass Spectrometry (MS) analysis of pyrolysis products of simple peptides has revealed several non-volatile thermal degradation products at masses lower than the precursor peptide. In addition to these products, many other signals were also observed at higher masses than the precursor peptide, and their characterization is the focus of this study. Here we report on the observation of homo and hetero condensation peptide products formed during the pyrolysis of peptides. The observed peptide condensation products are formed between two, three or even four peptides. Tandem MS (MS/MS) analyses of these products showed that C-terminal to N-terminal intermolecular bonding is preferred during pyrolysis when combining two peptides, rather than involving crosslinking between basic and acidic side chain groups like arginine and aspartic acid. These observations are rationalized by steric hindrance effect and known pK_a values of the peptide C- and N-termini and amino acid side groups like aspartic acid and arginine. Pyrolysis of a standard N-acetylated peptide showed no detectable condensation and/or crosslinked products, even in peptides with basic side groups, providing further evidence for the C-terminus to N-terminus intermolecular bonding between peptides under pyrolytic conditions.     

Effect of some amino acids and peptides on silicic acid polymerization

The polymerization of silicic acid in aqueous solutions at different pH was followed by the colorimetric molybdosilicate method. The role of four amino acids (serine, lysine, proline and aspartic acid) and the corresponding homopeptides was studied. All four amino acids behave the same way and favor the condensation of silicic acid. Peptides exhibit a stronger catalytic effect than amino acids but they appear to behave in very different ways depending on the nature of side-groups and pH. Poly-lysine and poly-proline for instance lead to the precipitation of solid phases containing both silica and peptides. The role of these biomolecules on the polymerization of silicic acid is discussed in terms of electrostatic interactions, hydrogen bonds and solubility.     

Alumina catalyzed reactions of amino acids

Thermal reactions of glycine (Gly), alanine (Ala), leucine (Leu), valine (Val) and proline (Pro) adsorbed on activated alumina were studied by means of thermal analysis. In the absence of alumina, decomposition of amino acids was detected as a sharp endotherm above 200°C, whereas no thermal effects were detectable by differential thermal analysis (DTA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) for amino acid/alumina mixtures. This could be explained by a continuous amino acid condensation to peptides and simultaneous absorption of formed water by alumina, the latter being gradually released at higher temperatures. Thermogravimetry (TG) and differential thermogravimetry (DTG) measurements revealed that the reactions of the amino acids adsorbed on alumina surface were spread over a wide range of temperatures. The catalysis of peptide bond formation on alumina surface at 85°C was proven directly by the identification of the reaction products, mainly dipeptides and cyclic anhydrides. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Synthetic Methods of Phosphonopeptides

Phosphonopeptides are phosphorus analogues of peptides and have been widely applied as enzyme inhibitors and antigens to induce catalytic antibodies. Phosphonopeptides generally contain one aminoalkylphosphonic acid residue and include phosphonopeptides with C-terminal aminoalkylphosphonic acids and phosphonopeptides with a phosphonamidate bond. The phosphonamidate bond in the phosphonopeptides is generally formed via phosphonylation with phosphonochloridates, condensation with coupling reagents and enzymes, and phosphinylation followed by oxidation. Pseudo four-component condensation reaction of amides, aldehydes, alkyl dichlorophosphites, and amino/peptide esters is an alternative, convergent, and efficient strategy for synthesis of phosphonopeptides through simultaneous construction of aminoalkylphosphonic acids and formation of the phosphonamidate bond. This review focuses on the synthetic methods of phosphonopeptides containing a phosphonamidate bond.     

Mechanism of the chemical conversions of amino acids with various chain lengths on a dehydrated silica surface

The joint use of methods of IR spectroscopy and mass spectrometry with bombardment by fast atoms to identify products of chemisorption of --amino acids on a dehydrated silica surface is described. It was established that amino acids undergo multistage chemical conversions in this case, with the formation of various products of intra- and intermolecular condensation — lactams, linear and cyclic peptides. The composition of the condensation products depends on the chain length of the amino acids.Translated from Teoreticheskaya i Éksperimental/naya Khimiya, Vol. 26, No. 5, pp. 628–633, September–October, 1990.     

CyClick Chemistry for the Synthesis of Cyclic Peptides

Here, we report a novel “CyClick” strategy for the macrocyclization of peptides that works in an exclusively intramolecular fashion thereby precluding the formation of dimers and oligomers via intermolecular reactions. The CyClick chemistry is highly chemoselective for the N‐terminus of the peptide with a C‐terminal aldehyde. In this protocol, the peptide conformation internally directs activation of the backbone amide bond and thereby facilitates formation of a stable 4‐imidazolidinone‐fused cyclic peptide with high diastereoselectivity (>99 %). This method is tolerant to a variety of peptide aldehydes and has been applied for the synthesis of 12‐ to 23‐membered rings with varying amino acid compositions in one pot under mild reaction conditions. The reaction generated peptide macrocycles featuring a 4‐imidazolidinone in their scaffolds, which acts as an endocyclic control element that promotes intramolecular hydrogen bonding and leads to macrocycles with conformationally rigid turn structures.     

Peptide bond formation by aminolysin-A catalysis: a simple approach to enzymatic synthesis of diverse short oligopeptides and biologically active puromycins

A new S9 family aminopeptidase derived from the actinobacterial thermophile Acidothermus cellulolyticus was cloned and engineered into a transaminopeptidase by site-directed mutagenesis of catalytic Ser(491) into Cys. The engineered biocatalyst, designated aminolysin-A, can catalyze the formation of peptide bonds to give linear homo-oligopeptides, hetero-dipeptides, and cyclic dipeptides using cost-effective substrates in a one-pot reaction. Aminolysin-A can recognize several C-terminal-modified amino acids, including the l- and d-forms, as acyl donors as well as free amines, including amino acids and puromycin aminonucleoside, as acyl acceptors. The absence of amino acid esters prevents the formation of peptides; therefore, the reaction mechanism involves aminolysis and not a reverse reaction of hydrolysis. The aminolysin system will be a beneficial tool for the preparation of structurally diverse peptide mimetics by a simple approach.     

Peptide sequencing with the 2-pyridinecarboxaldehyde schiff base peptide degradation

Dedicated to Professor John C. Sheehan on the occasion of his sixty-fifth birthday. Peptides treated with 2-pyridinecarboxaldehyde are converted to Schiff bases, pyridoimidazoles, α-ketoacyl amino acids and peptide amides, and diketopiperazines. Nitrogen abstraction and condensation with 2-pyridinecarboxaldehyde gives heterocyclic products. The products are separable by gas chromatography and when analyzed by mass spectrometry afford information for sequence assignment. Thus, a nonvolatile peptide can be converted to a mixture of products in one step that by mass spectrometric analysis affords the sequence. Peptides of up to eight and nine amino acids have been analyzed using this degradation as the basis of a one-step procedure.     

Fast Microwave‐Mediated Bulk Polycondensation of d,l‐Lactic Acid

The polycondensation of D ,L ‐lactic acid upon microwave irradiation was studied. The results of polycondensation by means of microwave were compared to those obtained from conventional heating of lactic acid at 100°C, and it was found that the reaction proceeds with much higher rate upon microwave irradiation. The oligomer mixtures formed were investigated by means of matrix‐assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (MALDI MS). The molecular mass of the poly(lactic acid) formed under microwave irradiation was found to increase with irradiation time, and the formation of cyclic oligomers after 20 min of reaction time was also revealed.     

Efficient microwave-assisted tandem N- to S-acyl transfer and thioester exchange for the preparation of a glycosylated peptide thioester

A peptide carrying a mercaptomethylated proline derivative at the C-terminus was prepared by solid-phase peptide synthesis (SPPS) and converted to the thioester of 3-mercaptopropionic acid (MPA) by aqueous MPA under microwave irradiation conditions. This post-SPPS thioesterification reaction was successfully applied to the synthesis of a glycopeptide thioester composed of 25 amino acid (AA) residues, which was then used for the preparation of a 61-AA glycopeptide by the thioester condensation method.     

Mixed Anhydride Intermediates in the Reaction of 5(4H)‐Oxazolones with Phosphate Esters and Nucleotides

5(4H)‐Oxazolones can be formed through the activation of acylated α‐amino acids or of peptide C termini. They constitute potentially activated intermediates in the abiotic chemistry of peptides that preceded the origin of life or early stages of biology and are capable of yielding mixed carboxylic‐phosphoric anhydrides upon reaction with phosphate esters and nucleotides. Here, we present the results of a study aimed at investigating the chemistry that can be built through this interaction. As a matter of fact, the formation of mixed anhydrides with mononucleotides and nucleic acid models is shown to take place at positions involving a mono‐substituted phosphate group at the 3’‐ or 5’‐terminus but not at the internal phosphodiester linkages. In addition to the formation of mixed anhydrides, the subsequent intramolecular acyl or phosphoryl transfers taking place at the 3’‐terminus are considered to be particularly relevant to the common prebiotic chemistry of α‐amino acids and nucleotides.     

FAR UV IRRADIATION OF DNA IN THE PRESENCE OF PROTEINS, AMINO ACIDS OR PEPTIDES

Abstract— The DNA of bacteriophage SP02c12 was subjected to 254 nm irradiation in solutions containing lysozyme or histone. In these solutions, the protein-DNA mass ratios and the ionic strengths of the solvents were varied to change the amount of protein associated with the DNA. Lysozyme-DNA binding constants were measured under the same conditions. The sensitivity of phage DNA to biological inactivation by UV increased as the amount of lysozyme bound per DNA strand increased. Although binding constants could not be measured for the DNA-histone interaction, this protein had a protective effect which was greater under conditions which cause enhanced binding. No crosslinking of either protein could be detected even at doses ten-fold greater than those giving a surviving fraction of 0.01.
Irradiation was also performed in the presence of various amino acids and short peptides. These were chosen to include amino acids which: (1) are positively charged, (2) absorb UV of this wavelength or (3) form UV-induced crosslinks to DNA. None of the amino acids tested affected sensitivity of the DNA to biological inactivation. Peptides containing a UV-absorbing amino acid and a positively charged amino acid enhanced sensitivity. For each of these peptides, a mixture of the constituent amino acids had the same effect as the peptide itself. Under the conditions used, no evidence for formation of DNA-amino acid crosslinks was found. The results indicate that proteins and peptides can sensitize DNA to UV inactivation by mechanisms other than covalent crosslink formation. Such mechanisms could include energy or electron transfer or alterations in the conformation of the DNA.     

A New Method for the Synthesis of Oligo-peptides

It was discovered that polypeptides were formed by self-assembly of N,O-bis(trimethylsilyl)amino acids with the assistance of O-phenylene phosphorochloridate.^[1] There were three steps involved in the self organization reactions, the activation of amino acid, the elongation of peptide chain and the termination of the chain reaction,among which the activation of amino acid -the formation of imino (alkyl)acetoxyphosphoranes was the key step. The formation process of the penta-coordinated phosphorus intermediates was showed in scheme 1.^[2,3,4] Through further studies of the mechanism of self-assembly reaction, it was found that carbonyl groups of the intermediates attacked by the neuclophilic groups were direct reson of the formation of peptides. However, the peptides in the solution were very difficult to be separated and analyzed.     

Trimetaphosphate‐Induced Addition of Aspartic Acid to Oligo(glutamic acid)s

When a solution containing 0.01M decaglutamic acid, 0.1–1.0M aspartic acid, 1.0M MgCl₂, and 0.5M sodium trimetaphosphate is allowed to stand at temperatures in the range 0–50°, addition products containing up to ten aspartic acid residues are formed. Addition occurs to the side‐chain carboxy moieties, not to the terminal amine of the decaglutamic acid. A number of other amino acids including glutamic acid, glycine, and histidine fail to react with decaglutamic acid under the same conditions. We believe that the activation of aspartic acid leads to the formation of a cyclic anhydride that is the key intermediate in the reaction.     

碳酸酯把手改构Wang树脂及其性能

基于碳酸酯结构易于亲核脱除的原理, 使用氯甲酸氯甲酯改构Wang树脂, 并探究了改构树脂与首位氨基酸的缩合效率. 实验结果表明, 改构后的Wang树脂与20种Fmoc保护氨基酸均能达到70%以上的缩合效率; 且对于带有较大侧链基团的Fmoc保护氨基酸, 通过降低树脂取代度或延长反应时间可提高其连接率. 为了验证改构后的碳酸酯型树脂在裂解时侧链未受到影响, 设计合成了3种模型肽, 并用温和裂解剂3-吡啶甲醛肟铯盐进行裂解. 实验结果表明, 利用改构树脂能得到侧链全保护的肽片段, 可初步应用到长链困难肽的合成中.     

Influence de l'imidazole,de quelques sels métalliques et de mélanges imidazole/sel métallique sur des réactions de condensation «prébiotiques» induites par les polyphosphates en milieu aqueux

Influence of imidazole, metal salts and mixtures of imidazole/metal salt on ‘prebiotic’ condensation reactions induced by polyphosphates in aqueous solutions In the presence of imidazole, aqueous solutions 0.1 M in glycine and 0.1 M in sodium trimetaphosphate, at pH 8.0–8.6 and room temperature, yield after 14 days up to 3% of triglycine. Addition of Cd²⁺ or Zn²⁺ decreases the yields, while Mg²⁺ increases them slightly. The significance of the systems trimetaphosphate/imidazole and trimetaphosphate/imidazole/magnesium salt in the promotion of ‘prebiotic’ condensation reactions in aqueous solutions, especially the condensation of amino acids, is discussed.     

Complementary nucleobase interaction enhances peptide-peptide recognition and self-replicating catalysis

The availability of the complementary interaction of nucleobases for influencing the formation of peptide architectures was explored. Nucleobases were incorporated as additional recognition elements in coiled-coil peptides by employing nucleobase amino acids (NBAs), which are artificial L-alpha-amino gamma-nucleobase-butyric acids. The effect of the base-pair interaction on intermolecular recognition between peptides was evaluated through a self-replication reaction. The self-replication reactions of the peptides with complementary base pairs such as thymine-adenine or guanine-cytosine at the g-g' heptad positions were accelerated in comparison with those of the peptides with mismatched base pairs or without nucleobases. However, thymine-adenine pairs at the e-e' positions did not enhance the self-replication. In the presence of a denaturant, the enhancement effects of complementary base pairs on the reaction disappeared. Thermal denaturation studies showed that the thymine-adenine pairs contributed to stabilization of the coiled-coil structure and that the pairs at the g-g' positions were more effective than those at the e-e' positions. The peptide-peptide interaction was reinforced by complementary nucleobase interactions appropriately arranged in the peptide structure; these led to acceleration of the self-replication reactions.     

A versatile set of aminooxy amino acids for the synthesis of neoglycopeptides

Four N-alkylaminooxy amino acids have been synthesized in 22-56% overall yield from readily available amino acid precursors. Each amino acid can be efficiently incorporated into peptides using Boc-chemistry-based solid-phase peptide synthesis, and in three of the four cases the resulting peptides can be chemoselectively glycosylated at the aminooxy side chains to generate neoglycopeptides. The range of N-alkylaminooxy amino acids prepared allows attachment of sugars at two-, three-, or four-atom distances from the peptide backbone, and each ensures that attached sugars adopt cyclic conformations. These derivatives provide convenient access to arrays of biologically relevant neoglycopeptides that may be used to probe the influence of attached sugars on the structure and function of peptides and proteins.