Stereoselective synthesis of 3-substituted 2-aminocyclopentanecarboxylic acid derivatives and their incorporation into short 12-helical beta-peptides that fold in water.

A stereoselective synthetic route is reported for the introduction of side chains at the 3-position of trans-2-aminocyclopentanecarboxylic acid (ACPC). Ring opening of the aziridine 2-benzyloxymethyl-6-azabicyclo[3.1.0]hexane with selected nucleophiles occurs in a regioselective manner and provides ACPC precursors with functional groups at the 3-position, trans to the 2-amino group. Oligomers composed of the 3-substituted ACPC residues maintain the 12-helical conformation displayed by the nonsubstituted analogues, as shown by their similar circular dichroism signatures. The added diversity of the new residues provides good dispersion of NMR signals, allowing the assignment of nearly all the NOE signals of a selected hexamer in aqueous solution. The NOEs between protons on nonadjacent residues are characteristic of the 12-helix. 3-Substituted ACPC residues allow one to arrange specific functional groups in a geometrically defined fashion, which should facilitate the design of beta-peptides for biological applications.