Enhancing Peptide Cyclization: Unveiling the Key Roles of Coupling Reagents and Heat for Optimal Results

Abstract

Cyclic peptides offer several advantages over their linear counterparts, including enhanced structural stability due to their rigid conformation and increased resistance to enzymatic proteolysis. Additionally, their ring structure and constrained conformation reduce the entropic cost upon binding to receptors and other biological targets, leading to higher binding affinity and specificity. However, peptide macrocyclization is often synthetically challenging due to factors such as reduced entropy, oligomer formation, and C-terminal epimerization. The conventional approach for synthesizing cyclic peptides involves the direct coupling of amine and carboxyl termini in the solution phase, using protected side-chain peptides and coupling reagents. Despite this, improving the efficiency of head-to-tail cyclization remains a key challenge. In this study, the cyclization of a de novo octapeptide composed of alternating l- and d-amino acids is optimized, in which the impact of various factors on the cyclization process is examined, including coupling reagents, temperature, heating method, chaotropic agents, solvent, and concentration. This investigation has not only led to the identification of efficient cyclization conditions, but also provides a valuable framework for the cyclization of other challenging peptide sequences. The insights gained in this study contribute to the field of peptide chemistry, expanding the understanding of peptide cyclization reactions.