Practical Protocols for Solid-Phase Peptide Synthesis 4.0

Dear Colleagues,

We are currently celebrating the 60th anniversary of the first public announcement by the Laurate Nobel Prize, R. Bruce Merrifield, of the solid-phase peptide synthesis (SPPS) technique at the Federation Meeting of 1962 in Atlantic City. The first publication (J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1963, 85, 2149–2154) took place one year later.

Although the strategy initially raised several critics and skeptics, mainly from the most established peptide chemists, over the years the SPPS has become the chemical method of choice for the preparation of peptides at the milligram scale in a research mode to multiKg as an active pharmaceutical ingredient.

This scientific “miracle” has been possible thanks to the contributions of a considerable number of colleagues who, both in academia and in industry, have optimized both the synthesis and purification steps. Many of these chemical advances have been published in scientific journals, but they are scattered throughout the vast network of scientific information.

The objective of this Special Issue of Materials and Protocols entitled "Practical Protocols for Solid-Phase Peptide Synthesis 4.0" is to bring together the state of the art in SPPS in a single publication. "Practical Protocols for Solid-Phase Peptide Synthesis 4.0" will cover all the practical aspects of peptide synthesis, purification, and characterization, including: resins; protecting groups; coupling agents; cleavage cocktails and their scavengers; solvents for synthesis and purification; synthesis of linear, cyclic, stapled, branched peptides with post-translational modifications; peptide–drug conjugates; and all purification and analysis methods. Special consideration is taken for green chemistry approaches.

Hopefully, the scientific community will share those little tricks that make the difference, so that in the end, the target peptide is obtained with great yield and purity.

Prof. Dr. Fernando Albericio
Prof. Dr. Beatriz G. De la Torre
Guest Editors

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