The Process of Peptide Synthesis

Solution Phase Synthesis (SPS) was the original approach to peptide synthesis. Though this process still has merit in this modern age, for large-scale peptide production, Solid-Phase Peptide Synthesis (SPPS) has become to be the method of choice of most scientists. SPPS’s advantages are the reason for this. SPPS appears to create peptides with higher purity, high yield, and faster production time.

There are five steps performed in a cyclical manner SPPS involves. The first step involves the attachment of an amino acid to a polymer. The second step is the protection of this attachment to prevent unwanted reactions. The next step is coupling the protected amino acids. Once that is done, they de-protect them to allow attachment acids to react to the following amino acid that will be added. And finally, they engage in polymer removal, allowing a free peptide to form.

Microwave-assisted SPPS can also enhance SPPS synthesis. This could be helpful when synthesizing long peptide sequences due to improved yield and speed. Microwave-assisted SPPS can, however, be the more expensive option compared to the traditional SPPS synthesis process.