Enhancement of cytotoxic activity by synthesis of peptide multimeric forms

Synthesis of four multimeric H-Lys-His-His-Arg-Lys-Lys-His-Arg-Lys-Arg-Lys-His-His-Lys-Arg-Lys-oH peptides containing two, four, eight and sixteen branches was carried out by solid phase utilizing a lysine core matrix. These multimeric peptides enhanced activity by inhibiting the colony-forming ability of HeLa cells, from twenty-four to fifty-six times in comparison with the monomeric form. Unexpectedly the peptide with only two-branched sequences showed the highest inhibitory activity.