Active esters in solid-phase peptide synthesis

Incorporation of single amino acid residues into peptide chains built on insoluble polymeric supports a priori appeared promising: the use of isolated, well defined (and potentially commercially available) reactive intermediates were expected to reduce the extent of undesired side reactions. In spite of these expectations active esters were only infrequently used in solid-phase peptide synthesis, mainly because the reaction rates achieved with them were insufficient for rapid chain-lengthening that became possible with automated instruments. In recent years, however, a certain revival of the active ester principle can be noted. This is the consequence of two factors: the application of highly reactive esters and the discovery of efficient catalysts of the ester-aminolysis reaction. The mechanism of catalysis and its explantation for further improvements are also discussed.