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Biomimetic oligomers are of large interest both as targets for combinatorial and parallel synthetic efforts and as foldamers. For example, shorter peptoid derivatives of beta-peptides, i.e., oligo-N-substituted beta-Ala, have been described as potential lead structures. Herein, we describe a solid-phase synthetic route to beta-peptoids with alpha-chiral aromatic N-substituents up to 11 residues long. Furthermore, the folding propensities of these oligomers were investigated by circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy.

Herein, we report studies on the influence of chiral, beta(2)-amino acids in the design of conformationally homogeneous cyclic tetrapeptide scaffolds. The cyclic alpha-tetrapeptide cyclo(-Phe-D-Pro-Lys-Phe-) (1) and its four mixed analogues, having one of the alpha-Phe replaced by either an (S)-or an (R)-beta(2)hPhe residue (i.e., cyclo(-(R)-beta(2)hPhe-D-Pro-Lys-Phe) (2a), cyclo(-(S)-beta(2)hPhe-D-Pro-Lys-Phe-) (2b), cyclo(-Phe-D-Pro-Lys-(R)-beta(2)hPhe-) (3a), and cyclo(- Phe- D- Pro- Lys-( R)-, 2hPhe-) ( 3b)), were all synthesized through solidphase procedures followed by solution- phase cyclization. Initially, all five cyclo- peptides were analyzed by H-1 NMR spectroscopic studies in different solvents and at variable temperatures. Subsequently, a detailed 2D NMR spectroscopic analysis of three of the mixed peptides in water was performed, and the information thus extracted was used as restraints in a computational study on the peptides' conformational preference. An X- ray crystallographic study on the side chain- protected (Boc) 2a revealed the solid- state structure of this peptide. The results presented herein, together with previous literature data on beta(3)-amino acid residues, conclusively demonstrate the potential of beta-amino acids in the design of conformationally homogeneous cyclic peptides that are homologous to peptides with known applications in biomedicinal chemistry and as molecular receptors.

The solution-phase synthesis of the simplest cyclic B-tetrapeptide, cyclo(B-Ala)4 (4), as well as the solidphase syntheses through side chain anchoring and on-resin cyclization of the cyclic B3-tetrapeptide cyclo-(B3hPhe-B3hLeu-B3hLys-B3hGln-) (14) and the first cyclic B3-pentapeptide cyclo- (B3hVal-B3hPhe-B3Leu- B3hLys-B3hLys-) (19) are reported. Extensive computational as well as spectroscopic studies, including X-ray and NMR spectroscopy, were undertaken to determine the preferred conformations of these unnatural oligomers in solution and in the solid state. cyclo(B-Ala)4 (4) with no chiral side chains is shown to exist as a mixture of rapidly interchanging conformers in solution, whereas inclusion of chiral side chains in the cyclo-B3-tetrapetpride causes stabilizaton of one dominating conformer. The cyclic B3-pentapeptide on the other hand shows larger conformational freedom. The X-ray structure of achiral cyclo(B-Ala)4 (4) displays a Ci-symmetrical 16-membered ring with adjacent C=O and N-H atoms pointing pair wise up and down with respect to the ring plane. CD spectorscopic examinations of all cyclic B-peptides were undertaken and revealed results valuable as starting point for further structural investigations of these entities.