α-Chymotrypsin-catalyzed peptide synthesis in frozen aqueous solution using N-protected amino acid carbamoylmethyl esters as acyl donors

Amide and Peptide Bond Formation in Water at Room Temperature

A general and environmentally responsible method for the formation of amide/peptide bonds in an aqueous micellar medium is described. Use of uronium salt (1-cyano-2-ethoxy-2-oxoethylidenaminooxy)dimethylaminomorpholinocarbenium hexafluorophosphate (COMU) as a coupling reagent, 2,6-lutidine, and TPGS-750-M represents mild conditions associated with these valuable types of couplings. The aqueous reaction medium is recyclable leading to low E Factors.

Recent advances in chemoenzymatic peptide syntheses

Chemoenzymatic peptide synthesis is the hydrolase-catalyzed stereoselective formation of peptide bonds. It is a clean and mild procedure, unlike conventional chemical synthesis, which involves complicated and laborious protection-deprotection procedures and harsh reaction conditions. The chemoenzymatic approach has been utilized for several decades because determining the optimal conditions for conventional synthesis is often time-consuming. The synthesis of poly- and oligopeptides comprising various amino acids longer than a dipeptide continues to pose a challenge owing to the lack of knowledge about enzymatic mechanisms and owing to difficulty in optimizing the pH, temperature, and other reaction conditions. These drawbacks limit the applications of the chemoenzymatic approach. Recently, a variety of enzymes and substrates produced using recombinant techniques, substrate mimetics, and optimal reaction conditions (e.g., frozen aqueous media and ionic liquids) have broadened the scope of chemoenzymatic peptide syntheses. In this review, we highlight the recent advances in the chemoenzymatic syntheses of various peptides and their use in developing new materials and biomedical applications.

Highly efficient synthesis of endomorphin-2 under thermodynamic control catalyzed by organic solvent stable proteases with in situ product removal

An efficient enzymatic synthesis of endomorphin-2 (EM-2) was achieved using organic solvent stable proteases in nonaqeous media, based on thermodynamic control and an in situ product removal methodology. The high stability of biocatalysts in organic solvents enabled the aleatoric modulation of the nonaqueous reaction media to shift thermodynamic equilibrium toward synthesis. Peptide Boc-Phe-Phe-NH2 was synthesized with a high yield of 96% by the solvent stable protease WQ9-2 in monophase medium with an economical molar ratio of the substrate of 1:1. The tetrapeptide Boc-Tyr-Pro-Phe-Phe-NH2 was synthesized with a yield of 88% by another organic solvent tolerant protease PT121 from Boc-Tyr-Pro-OH and Phe-Phe-NH2 in an organic-aqueous biphasic system. The reaction-separation coupling in both enzymatic processes provides "driving forces" for the synthetic reactions and gives a high yield and high productivity without purification of the intermediate, thereby making the synthesis more amenable to scale-up.

Solvent selection and optimization of α-chymotrypsin-catalyzed synthesis of N-Ac-Phe-Tyr-NH2 using mixture design and response surface methodology

A peptide, N-Ac-Phe-Tyr-NH(2) , with angiotensin I-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor activity was synthesized by an α-chymotrypsin-catalyzed condensation reaction of N-acetyl phenylalanine ethyl ester (N-Ac-Phe-OEt) and tyrosinamide (Tyr-NH(2) ). Three kinds of solvents: a Tris-HCl buffer (80 mM, pH 9.0), dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO), and acetonitrile were employed in this study. The optimum reaction solvent component was determined by simplex centroid mixture design. The synthesis efficiency was enhanced in an organic-aqueous solvent (Tris-HCl buffer: DMSO: acetonitrile = 2:1:1) in which 73.55% of the yield of N-Ac-Phe-Tyr-NH(2) could be achieved. Furthermore, the effect of reaction parameters on the yield was evaluated by response surface methodology (RSM) using a central composite rotatable design (CCRD). Based on a ridge max analysis, the optimum condition for this peptide synthesis included a reaction time of 7.4 min, a reaction temperature of 28.1°C, an enzyme activity of 98.9 U, and a substrate molar ratio (Phe:Tyr) of 1:2.8. The predicted and the actual (experimental) yields were 87.6 and 85.5%, respectively. The experimental design and RSM performed well in the optimization of synthesis of N-Ac-Phe-Tyr-NH(2) , so it is expected to be an effective method for obtaining a good yield of enzymatic peptide. © 2012 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Biotechnol. Prog., 2012.

Optimal alpha-chymotrypsin-catalyzed synthesis of N-Ac-Phe-Gly-NH(2)

N-Acetyl-phenylalanine-glycinamide (N-Ac-Phe-Gly-NH(2)), a type of dipeptide derivative, was synthesized from N-acetyl phenylalanine ethyl ester and glycinamide and catalyzed by alpha-chymotrypsin, a protease, in a biphasic system. Response surface methodology with a four-factor, five-level central composite rotatable design was employed to evaluate the effects of selected parameters that included incubation time, reaction temperature, enzyme activity, and pH level on the yield of the dipeptide derivative. The results indicated that pH significantly affected the yield of N-Ac-Phe-Gly-NH(2). In a ridge max analysis, the optimum condition for this synthesis included an incubation time of 30.9 min, a reaction temperature of 35.8 degrees C, an enzyme activity of 159.2 U, and a pH of 8.98. The predicted and the actual (experimental) yields were 98.0 and 95.1%, respectively.