Aqueous synthesis of peptide thioesters from amino acids and a thiol using 1,1'-carbonyldiimidazole

A new method was developed for the synthesis of peptide thioesters from free amino acids and thiols in water. This one-pot simple method involves two steps: (1) activation in water of an amino acid presumably as its N-carboxyanhydride (NCA) using 1,1'-carbonyldiimidazole (CDI), and (2) subsequent condensation of the activated amino acid-NCA in the presence of a thiol. With this method citrulline peptide thioesters containing up to 10 amino acid residues were prepared in a single reaction. This aqueous synthetic method provides a simple way to prepare peptide thioesters for studies of peptide replication involving ligation of peptide thioesters on peptide templates. The relevance of peptide replication to the origin-of-life process is supported by previous studies showing that amino acid thioesters (peptide thioester precursors) can be synthesized under prebiotic conditions by reaction of small sugars with ammonia and a thiol.