One-pot isomerization-cross metathesis-reduction (ICMR) synthesis of lipophilic tetrapeptides

An efficient, versatile and rapid method toward homologue series of lipophilic tetrapeptide derivatives (herein, the opioid peptides H-TIPP-OH and H-DIPP-OH) is reported. High atom economy and a minimal number of synthetic steps resulted from a one-pot tandem isomerization-cross metathesis-reduction sequence (ICMR), applicable both in solution and solid phase methodology. The broadly applicable synthesis proceeds with short reaction times and simple work-up, as illustrated in this work for alkylated opioid tetrapeptides.