Copper(ii) mediated facile and ultra fast peptide synthesis in methanol

Abstract

A novel, ultrafast, mild and scalable amide bond formation strategy in methanol using simple thioacids and amines is described. The mechanism suggests that the coupling reactions are initially mediated by CuSO₄·5H₂O and subsequently catalyzed by in situ generated copper sulfide. The pure peptides were isolated in satisfactory yields in less than 5 minutes.