Challenges and Achievements of Peptide Synthesis in Aqueous and Micellar Media

Peptides are being increasingly explored for drug development as well as other applications, ranging from research tools to food additives. This growing interest in peptides has led to the need to develop new sustainable synthetic approaches for this class of molecules. The present review article focuses on the synthesis of peptides in aqueous media to drastically reduce organic solvent use and its consequent environmental impact. After some pioneering investigations about solid-phase peptide synthesis in water, the field is experiencing a renaissance also for the synthesis in solution spurred by increasing applications enabled by micellar catalysis. In this contribution, the challenges and opportunities offered by using aqueous and micellar media in the chemical synthesis of peptides are critically discussed.