Intramolecular pyrophosphate formation during N alpha-9-fluorenylmethyloxycarbonyl (Fmoc) solid-phase synthesis of peptides containing adjacent phosphotyrosine residues.

The derivative N alpha-9-fluorenylmethyloxycarbonyl-O-phospho-L-tyrosine [Fmoc-Tyr(PO3H2)-OH] has been used successfully for the solid-phase synthesis of a wide variety of phosphorylated peptides. However, when it is used to incorporate consecutive phosphotyrosine residues, a pyrophosphate linkage can form between the two adjacent tyrosines. Incorporation of unprotected phosphotyrosine during the synthesis of peptides with multiple phosphotyrosine residues has been studied as a function of coupling conditions and the absence or presence of intervening amino acid residues. The pyrophosphate-forming side reaction is more severe with increased coupling times and/or repetitions of coupling and occurs only when the phosphotyrosine residues are directly adjacent to one another.