Backbone modification of β-hairpin-forming tetrapeptides in asymmetric acyl transfer reactions

Synthetic oligopeptides as mimics of enzymes have been increasingly exploited as catalysts for asymmetric reactions, but highly effective oligopeptide catalysts with relatively low molecular weight are still in great demand. In this paper, we showed the conformational engineering of the β-hairpin-forming tetrapeptide 4 which was first reported by Miller's group as the catalyst for the asymmetric acyl transfer reaction of trans-2-(N-acetylamino)cyclohexan-1-ol (k(rel)=28). Through our backbone modification strategy, thioamide and sulfonamide as the isosteres of amide were introduced in the β-hairpin secondary structure. The thioxo peptides also adopt β-hairpin conformations as the oxopeptide supported by the combined use of NMR, IR, and X-ray techniques. Thioxo tetrapeptide 14 formed a more constrained β-hairpin conformation and therefore delivered much higher enantioselectivity (k(rel)=109) in the same reaction. Moreover, the examination of the conformational changes of tetrapeptide 8 upon the protonation of the N(π)-methylhistidine moiety provided evidence to explain the variation of its catalytic efficiency in the asymmetric acyl-transfer reaction.