Peptidyl carbamate esters: a new class of specific elastase inhibitors

A series of tripeptide carbamate esters were synthesized and tested for inhibitory activity towards porcine pancreatic elastase, trypsin and chymotrypsin. Two of these compounds specifically inhibited elastase [Ki = 4.25 x 10(-5)M and 3.00 x 10(-5)M], and exhibited no effect toward the other two serine proteases. These active tripeptidyl carbamates represent a novel class of specific elastase inhibitors.