An alpha-formylglycine building block for fmoc-based solid-phase peptide synthesis.

[reaction: see text] Nearly all known sulfatases share a common active site modification that is required for their activity: conversion of cysteine to alpha-formylglycine. We report the synthesis of an alpha-formylglycine building block suitable for Fmoc-based solid-phase peptide synthesis. The building block was incorporated into a synthetic peptide derived from the active site of a Mycobacterium tuberculosis sulfatase.