Environmentally Conscious In-Water Peptide Synthesis Using Boc Strategy

Seeking a more environmentally balanced method of peptide synthesis, we are focusing on developing organic solvent-free synthetic methods using water, an environmentally friendly solvent. In current peptide synthesis, the most common building blocks are Boc- and Fmoc-protected amino acids, which are highly soluble in organic solvents. We previously reported a technique for solid-phase peptide synthesis in water that utilizes Fmoc-amino acids converted to water-dispersible nanoparticles. The Boc strategy is well-known to be suitable for the industrial chemistry and green chemistry, because only gases are generated without any other by-products in the deprotection step of Boc group. Here we summarize in-water both liquid and solid-phase method using Boc-amino acids based on MW-assisted coupling reaction of nanosized reactants, nanoparticles and nanomicelles.