Oxime ligation in acetic acid: efficient synthesis of aminooxy-peptide conjugates

Oxime ligation is a powerful tool in various bioconjugation strategies. Nevertheless, high reaction rates and quantitative yields are typically reported for aldehyde-derived compounds. In contrary, keto groups react much slower, with quantitative yields achieved at 5 h for low-molecular weight compounds and more than 15 h for polymers or dendrimers. In this communication, we report that oxime ligation proceeds rapidly with quantitative (>95%) conversion within 1.5-2 h in pure acetic acid. The practical utility of suggested technique is illustrated by the synthesis of peptide-steroid and peptide-polymer conjugates of model aminooxy-peptides. Copyright © 2016 European Peptide Society and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.