The Solid Phase Synthesis Approach to Making Peptides
Standing
Undergraduate
Type of Proposal
Oral Research Presentation
Challenges Theme
Open Challenge
Faculty Sponsor
John Trant
Proposal
A solid phase synthesis reaction creates a peptide chain using an insoluble solid support phase, often a resin (1). The resin contains a functional group that starts the coupling and loads the first amino acid using the functional group to attack. After the first amino acid has been loaded, it can continue to bond with more amino acids and generate a peptide chain, all the while using the resin as a solid support. Traditional peptide synthesis occurs in a solution simply with the amino acids and no solid phase, but peptides in solution have poor solubility (2). Solid phase synthesis provides a work around. The advantages of solid phase synthesis are that it allows for easier purification of the products and a faster synthesis of peptides with longer chains (3). Any excess reagents can be washed out easily. Potential applications of solid phase synthesis are making complex antibiotics in short time periods with much fewer steps, making hormones, and even with drug delivery (4). In the future, it may even be possible to utilize solid phase synthesis to make antibiotics and drugs using AI (5). This presentation will provide a deeper look into solid phase synthesis and why it should be used over solution phase methods. Peptides have become crucial to the development of drugs, and this work highlights why more work needs to be done on solid phase to optimize the process of making them as there are still issues like requiring costly resins and large quantities of solvents.
Grand Challenges
Viable, Healthy and Safe Communities
The Solid Phase Synthesis Approach to Making Peptides
A solid phase synthesis reaction creates a peptide chain using an insoluble solid support phase, often a resin (1). The resin contains a functional group that starts the coupling and loads the first amino acid using the functional group to attack. After the first amino acid has been loaded, it can continue to bond with more amino acids and generate a peptide chain, all the while using the resin as a solid support. Traditional peptide synthesis occurs in a solution simply with the amino acids and no solid phase, but peptides in solution have poor solubility (2). Solid phase synthesis provides a work around. The advantages of solid phase synthesis are that it allows for easier purification of the products and a faster synthesis of peptides with longer chains (3). Any excess reagents can be washed out easily. Potential applications of solid phase synthesis are making complex antibiotics in short time periods with much fewer steps, making hormones, and even with drug delivery (4). In the future, it may even be possible to utilize solid phase synthesis to make antibiotics and drugs using AI (5). This presentation will provide a deeper look into solid phase synthesis and why it should be used over solution phase methods. Peptides have become crucial to the development of drugs, and this work highlights why more work needs to be done on solid phase to optimize the process of making them as there are still issues like requiring costly resins and large quantities of solvents.