Amino Acid Derived Macrocycles—An Area Driven by Synthesis or Application?

Molecular modeling, synthesis, and biological evaluation of macrocyclic calpain inhibitors

The design and elaboration of a series of macrocyclic templates that exhibit a propensity to adopt a beta-strand-like peptide-backbone conformation led to potent and selective inhibitors of calpain 2. Macrocycle 1 retarded calcium-induced opacification in an ovine-lens culture assay and is a lead compound for the development of a drug for cataract treatment. Cbz=carbobenzyloxy.

Design, synthesis, and self-assembling properties of novel triazolophanes

A series of novel triazolophanes containing peptidic and nonpeptidic backbones is reported. The crystal structure of one such macrocycle displays self-assembly through nonconventional hydrogen-bonding interactions.

Microporous Organic Materials from Hydrophobic Dipeptides

In the last few years dipeptides with two hydrophobic residues (hydrophobic dipeptides) have emerged as an unexpected source of stable microporous organic materials. Supramolecular self-assembly of the rather small building blocks is dictated by stringent demands on the hydrogen-bond formation by the peptide main chains and the aggregation of hydrophobic entities in the side chains. A systematic survey of structures derived from single-crystal X-ray diffraction studies has revealed the existence of two large classes of structures, differing in the dimensionality of the hydrogen-bonding patterns in the crystals and the nature of the channels. The present review summarizes the structural properties of the microporous dipeptides and discusses their potential applications.