Linear and cyclic β3-oligopeptides with functionalised side-chains (-CH2OBn, -CO2Bn, -CH2CH2CO2Bn) derived from serine and from aspartic and glutamic acid

Abstract

The natural β-amino acid derivative Boc-Asp(β-OH)-OBn, as well as Boc-β-HGlu(OBn)-OH and Boc-β-HSer(OBn)-OH (prepared from appropriately protected glutamic acid and serine, respectively, by Arndt–Eistert homologation), were employed as building blocks for the synthesis of linear (11–20) and cyclic (21–23) β-oligopeptides consisting of two to six β-amino acids [using trichloroethyl (TCE) ester groups for C-terminal protection and pentafluorophenyl-ester activation for macrocyclisation]. While the linear derivatives are soluble enough for reactions and structural investigations in solution, the cyclo-β-tri- and -hexapeptides are not (according to FT-IR measurements they form networks of hydrogen bonds, perhaps consisting of so-called nanotubes). The CD spectra of the Boc–OTCE-protected (19) and of the unprotected (20) β-hexapeptides [β-Asp(OBn)-β-HGlu(OBn)-β-HSer(OBn)]₂ differ drastically, and only the unprotected form shows the familiar pattern of a negative Cotton effect between 210 and 220 nm (indicative of a 3₁₄ helix). An NMR analysis in methanol of the β-hexapeptide 20 with free termini reveals the presence of a single, central, left-handed helix turn (14-membered hydrogen-bonded ring). The results are discussed and compared with those obtained previously for analogous β-peptides carrying non-functionalised side chains.