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Updated: Feb 4, 2026

Light-driven Enzymatic Decarboxylation
Published on: May 22, 2016
Visible-Light-Driven, Copper-Catalyzed Decarboxylative C(sp3 )-H Alkylation of Glycine and Peptides
Chao Wang1, Mengzhun Guo1, Rupeng Qi1
1Key Laboratory of Preclinical Study for New Drugs, of Gansu Province, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Lanzhou University, 199 West Donggang Road, Lanzhou, 730000, China.
Abstract:
Despite a well-developed and growing body of work in Cu catalysis, the potential of Cu to serve as a photocatalyst remains underexplored. Reported herein is the first example of visible-light-induced Cu-catalyzed decarboxylative C(sp3 )-H alkylation of glycine for preparing α-alkylated unnatural α-amino acids. It merits mentioning that the mild conditions and the good functional-group tolerance allow the modification of peptides using this method. The mechanistic studies revealed that a radical-radical coupling pathway is involved in the reaction.
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