The synthesis of peptides for both research and API production is conveniently carried out using the solid-phase strategy. However, the main drawback of this approach is the large amounts of hazardous solvents required. In this regard, several pharmaceutical industries participating in the ACS Green Chemistry Institute Pharmaceutical Roundtable have shown interest in identifying green solvents for solid-phase peptide synthesis. In a previous study, our group proposed γvalerolactone (GVL) as a replacement for the hazardous DMF. However, during Fmoc removal of the less hindered Gly residue, acylation with GVL can take place. Here we demonstrate that this side reaction can be circumvented by the incorporation of the corresponding dipeptides that carry Gly as the C-terminal. These dipeptides were conveniently prepared using CTC resin, which can be reused after activation. Using this strategy, GVL proved to be slightly superior to DMF for the synthesis of the demanding ABRF 1992 peptide, which contains five Gly residues.

The main strategies for the synthesis of Peptide Nucleic Acids (PNAs): key molecules as DNA/RNA mimics that can hybridize complementary chains of nucleic acids with high affinity and specificity.

Fmoc and Boc group are the two main groups used to protect the α-amino function in Solid-Phase Peptide Synthesis (SPPS). In this regard, the use of the Mmsb linker allows the combination of these two groups. Peptide-O-Mmsb-Resin is stable to the piperidine and trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) treatment used to remove Fmoc and Boc, respectively. The peptide is detached in a two-step protocol, namely reduction of the sulfoxide to the sulfide with Me3SiCl and Ph3P, and then treatment with TFA. The advantage of this strategy has been demonstrated by the following: preparation of peptide with no diketopiperazine formation in sequences prone to this side reaction; on-resin cyclization without the concourse of common organic reagents such as Pd(0) but of difficult use in a biological laboratory; and on-resin disulfide formation in a total side-chain unprotected peptide. The use of Mmsb linker together with Msib (4-(methylsulfinyl)­benzyl) and Msbh (4,4′-bis­(methylsulfinyl)­benzhydryl) described in the accompanying manuscript add a fourth dimension to the SPPS protecting group scheme.

The solid-phase synthesis of Met-containing peptides using a fluorenylmethoxycarbonyl (Fmoc)/tert-butyl (tBu) protection scheme is inevitably accompanied by two stubborn side reactions, namely, oxidation and S-alkylation (tert-butylation), which result in the formation of Met(O) and sulfonium salt impurities of the target peptide, respectively. These two reactions are acid-catalyzed, and they occur during the final trifluoroacetic (TFA)-based acidolytic cleavage step. Herein, we developed two new cleavage solutions that eradicate the oxidation and reduce S-alkylation. TFA-anisole-trimethylsilyl chloride (TMSCl)-Me 2 Striisopropylsilane (TIS) containing 1 mg of triphenyl phosphine per mL of solution was the optimal mixture for Cys-containing peptides, while for the remaining peptides, TIS was not required. Both cleavage solutions proved to be excellent when sensitive amino acids such as Cys and Trp were involved. TMSCl did not affect either of these sensitive amino acids. Reversing the sulfonium salt to free Met-containing peptide was achieved by heating the peptide at 40 °C for 24 h using 5% acetic acid.

Chain snatching is a serious threat scaring the public and a challenging issue for the police department to trace the offenders and recover the gold. To resolve this issue, the city police installed CCTV cameras and organized awareness programmes in crowdy places. These initiatives reduced the crime to certain extent. However, things remain the same and chain snatching has considerably increased. As offenders usually target the women in the society, it is very difficult to recover emotionally the affected women by such incidents. In this paper, it is proposed to design a small electronic gadget to track continuously when the chain is snatched. This gadget uses power from the human body, wearable sensors to track the location, and wireless transmission technology with smart phones over long distances. This innovative design will reduce the anti-social activities in public places. It can also be used as a life saver during accidents in remote areas.