α-Melanotropin Labelled at its Tyrosine2 Residue: Synthesis and Biological Activities of 3′-Iodotyrosine2-,3′-125Iodotyrosine2-,3′,5′-Diiodotyrosine2-, and (3′,5′-3H2)tyrosine2-α-Melanotropin,and of Related Peptides

α-MSH was labelled at its tyrosine² residue with tritium and iodine. Several synthetic routes were investigated by preparing 13 precursor or mode compounds and 4 different labelled products (via about 40 intermediates). Their melanotropic activity was determined with an in vitro frog skin assay and, for some of the compounds, with a tyrosinase assay. The tritiation was performed on Tyr(I₂)²]α-MSH by catalytic halogen/tritium exchange, yielding α-MSH of high specific radioactivity (34 Ci/mmol) and full biological activity. Iodination was studied in detail using five different techniques. An equimolar chloramine T procedure proved to be the most convenient and reproducible method, resulting in monoiodinated α-MSH containing 99% of the label in position 2. The biological activity was 50% that of α-MSH; the specific radioactivity, determined in a competitive binding assay with a highly specific α-MSH antiserum and Tyr(I)²]α-MSH as competitor, was 1530 Ci/mmol. The labelling techniques and the bioligical results are discussed.