Fmoc-Aeg-OH

The cyclization of linear analogs based on endomorphin-2 structure, Tyr/Dmt-d-Lys-Phe-Phe-Asp-NH2 and Tyr/Dmt-d-Cys-Phe-Phe-Cys-NH2 (where Dmt=2',6'-dimethyltyrosine), resulting in obtaining lactam or disulfide derivatives, was studied using liquid chromatography combined with on-line mass spectrometry (LC-MS) and tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). In case of cyclization via an amide bond, the formation of the cyclic monomers, cyclic but not linear dimers and even traces of cyclic trimers was observed. Disulfide bridge containing peptides was obtained by the solid-phase synthesis of the linear sequences, followed by either in-solution or on-resin cyclization. In case of the in-solution cyclization, the expected cyclic monomers were the only products. When oxidation of the cysteine residues was performed when the peptides were still on the resin, cyclic monomer and two cyclodimers, parallel and antiparallel, were found. Digestion of the isolated cyclodimers with α-chymotrypsin allowed for their unambiguous identification. The comparison of the cyclic monomer/dimer ratios for analogs with Tyr versus Dmt in position 1 revealed that the presence of the exocyclic Dmt favored formation of the cyclic monomer, most likely due to the increased steric bulk of this amino acid side-chain as compared with Tyr.

In the backbone amide linker (BAL) strategy, the peptide is anchored not at the C-terminus but through a backbone amide, which leaves the C-terminal available for various modifications. This is thus a very general strategy for the introduction of C-terminal modifications. The BAL strategy was originally developed using a trisalkoxybenzyl linker, but since then range linkers (handles) with different properties have also been developed. The BAL anchoring is established by anchoring an aromatic aldehyde, typically a trisalkoxybenzaldehyde, to the solid support, followed by attachment of the first amino acid residue by reductive amination. This can be used as a general approach for the introduction of other C-terminal modifications as well as functionalities, such as fluorophors. The second step is an acylation of a secondary amine, followed by standard Fmoc-based solid-phase synthesis to assemble the final peptide. One useful application of this strategy is in the synthesis of C-terminal peptide aldehydes. The C-terminal aldehyde is masked as an acetal during synthesis and then conveniently demasked in the final cleavage step to generate the free aldehyde. Another application is in the synthesis of peptide thioesters with a C-terminal glycine.

Thermal decomposition (TD) of proteins is being investigated as a rapid digestion step for bottom-up proteomics. Mass spectrometry (MS) analyses of the TD products of simple peptides and intact proteins have revealed several nonvolatile products at masses lower than the precursor biomolecule (M). In addition to products stemming from site-specific cleavages, many signals are also observed at a corresponding M-18, most likely because of dehydration (M-H2O) during the heating process. Understanding the structural nature of the water loss product is important in establishing the utility of their tandem mass spectra (collision-induced dissociation) in determining the precursor ion amino acid sequence in a bottom-up proteomic workflow. Dehydration of a peptide can take place from a variety of sources including side chain groups, C-terminus, and/or intramolecular cyclization (C to N-terminus cyclization). In this work, liquid chromatography-tandem MS (LC-MS/MS) and a series of standard peptides (angiotensin II, DRVYIHPF and its cyclic analog) are implemented to decipher the structure of the TD dehydration product. In addition, a derivatization strategy incorporating N-terminus acetylation was developed that allowed the direct comparison of tandem mass spectra of standard cyclic peptides with those resulting from the TD process, thus eliminating any ambiguity from the direct comparison of their mass spectra (due to gas-phase cyclization of b-ions, which can result in sequence scrambling of the precursor ion). Results from these investigations indicated that peptide dehydrated TD products were mostly linear in nature, and water loss was favored from the C-terminus carboxyl group or, when present, the aspartic acid side chain. Given the predictable nature of the formation of TD dehydration products, their MS/MS analysis can be of utility in providing complementary and confirmatory sequence information of the precursor peptide.