Gram-Scale Preparation of C-Terminal-Modified Enkephalin Analogues by Typical Liquid-Phase Peptide Synthesis.

This article describes the gram-scale liquid-phase peptide synthesis of C-terminal-modified enkephalin analogues that possess high analgesic efficacy in animals, high potency for mu and delta opioid receptors, and high metabolic stability and potential blood-brain barrier permeability. Despite the long cycle time and tedious purification steps, liquid-phase synthesis is still a preferred method for large-scale peptide synthesis due to its cost effectiveness (i.e., amount of amino acids and reagents required), easy detection, and isolation of impurities compared with solid-phase synthesis. A robust liquid-phase synthesis protocol is described, involving BOP-assisted coupling and Boc deprotection, which has been well established in the laboratory and is a useful synthetic protocol for cost-effective production of peptide drugs.