The last two decades have been an era of rapid progress in peptide research. This era was begun by the work of Sanger on the amino acid sequence determination of insulin and by du Vigneaud on the structure determination and synthesis of oxytocin. This period has seen impressive progress in the structure elucidation and synthesis of many peptides of natural origin and of great biological significance, as well as in methods for sequence determination and chemical synthesis of peptides [1–4]. Perfection of techniques and instruments for automatic determination of the amino acid sequence of peptides and proteins has made possible a greatly broadened understanding of genetics and evolution as well as the more chemical areas of mechanism of action of enzymes and hormones, and physical chemistry of peptides and proteins. Effective methods of peptide synthesis are crucial to progress in this area, because only by synthesis can adequate amounts of important peptides be made available for chemical, biologi...

Solid Phase Peptide Synthesis

Recoverable Catalysts for Asymmetric Organic Synthesis

Organic Synthesis on Soluble Polymer Supports: Liquid-Phase Methodologies.

Organic Polymer Supports for Synthesis and for Reagent and Catalyst Immobilization

It is a privilege to be able to contribute to this volume in which Professor Zervas’ friends, students, and colleagues have joined together to honor him and his remarkable contributions to peptide chemistry. Although I did not know him until after his days in the Bergmann Laboratory at the Rockefeller Institute, I can claim the distinction of now working in those very same rooms that they occupied back in the mid-1930s. Like all peptide chemists, I am greatly indebted to Professor Zervas, having depended so heavily on the carbobenzoxy group and on the various modified urethan protecting groups which have been direct extensions of the revolutionary advance that Bergmann and Zervas made.

Solid-phase peptide synthesis.

ONE of the most exciting recent developments in peptide synthesis is the introduction of the solid phase method1 which facilitates rapid synthesis of peptides by the elimination of tedious purification steps. Excess reagents are removed by filtration. The ease of these operations led to speculations that the method might be used for the synthesis of enzymes, but careful investigation has shown that the individual coupling steps are not quantitative, so that erroneous sequences accumulate, together with the desired poly peptide2,3. General methods to separate such complex mixtures are still not available, especially if the chain length exceeds 20 amino-acids, so much was clear in the attempted synthesis of the enzyme ribonuclease4 and other larger peptides. Another disadvantage of the solid phase method compared with synthesis in solution is the restriction in the choice of solvents, coupling methods and protecting groups.

M. Mutter

Papers

Liquid Phase Synthesis of Peptides