The Chemical basis of Peptide Synthesis

 

Peptides are essential in a large variety of biological processes involving all organisms.  Peptides show a diversity of biochemical activities. They can act as hormones, antibiotics, enzyme modulators, and receptors. A number of peptides have been shown to play a key role in specific disease states such as Alzheimer’s disease, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes. Well studied and synthetically produced peptides include insulin, oxytocin, vasopressin and endorphins.

Peptide Synthesis Companies

Genosphere Biotechnologies synthesize custom peptides for research and development laboratories since 1996.  Among peptide synthesis companies Genosphere Biotechnologies is one of the most trusted group of peptide chemists in the industry and is your ideal partner for the custom synthesis of peptides and complex organic molecules.  Genosphere Biotechnologies offers a full range of technologies.  We produce research grade peptides from simple peptides to the most complex peptidomimetics or modified peptides. The company’s peptide synthesis group will support you in the design of your peptides and peptide derivatives.

 Peptide Synthesis

A peptide is a short polymer of amino acids linked together by amide bonds (-CO-NH- bonds) called peptide bonds. The peptide is formed when the carboxyl group of one amino acid reacts with the amine group of another amino acid in a dehydration reaction. The resulting dipeptide carries an amine group on one end called the N-terminus (often abbreviated NH2-, ‘N-’ or Nter-) and a carboxyl group on the other end called the C-terminus (often abbreviated -OH, ‘-C’ or -Cter). 

 

 Genosphere Biotechnologies can produce complex peptides by total chemical synthesis, incorporating any of the 20 standard L- amino acids or other unnatural amino acids (D-form, glycosylated, azide containing, methylated, etc). Additionally, we can engineer structural modifications, such as gamma-peptide bond branching, epsilon-peptide bond branching.  Other popular structural changes to the linear peptide chain include disulfide bridges or Nter to Cter lactam cyclizations.

 Synthetic peptides can be obtained by total chemical synthesis through solution synthesis, or by solid-phase peptide synthesis (SPPS), or by a combination of both methods.  At Genosphere Biotechnologies most syntheses of peptides are carried out on solid phase, whereas the solution approach is chosen for synthesizing di- and tripeptides, and in some Cter modified peptides.  While a combination of both approaches is often preferred with chain structure modified peptides and special cyclic peptides. In the following paragraphs we will discuss the solid- phase approach in more details.