Selenazolidine: a selenium containing proline surrogate in peptide science.

In the search for new peptide ligands containing selenium in their sequences, we investigated l-4-selenazolidine-carboxylic acid (selenazolidine, Sez) as a proline analog with the chalcogen atom in the γ-position of the ring. In contrast to proteinogenic selenocysteine (Sec) and selenomethionine (SeMet), the incorporation within a peptide sequence of such a non-natural amino acid has never been studied. There is thus a great interest in increasing the possibility of selenium insertion within peptides, especially for sequences that do not possess a sulfur containing amino acid (Cys or Met), by offering other selenated residues suitable for peptide synthesis protocols. Herein, we have evaluated selenazolidine in Boc/Bzl and Fmoc/tBu strategies through the synthesis of a model tripeptide, both in solution and on a solid support. Special attention was paid to the stability of the Sez residue in basic conditions. Thus, generic protocols have been optimized to synthesize Sez-containing peptides, through the use of an Fmoc-Xxx-Sez-OH dipeptide unit. As an example, a new analog of the vasopressin receptor-1A antagonist was prepared, in which Pro was replaced with Sez [3-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-propionyl-d-Tyr(Me)-Phe-Gln-Asn-Arg-Sez-Arg-NH2]. Both proline and such pseudo-proline containing peptides exhibited similar pharmacological properties and endopeptidase stabilities indicating that the presence of the selenium atom has minimal functional effects. Taking into account the straightforward handling of Sez as a dipeptide building block in a conventional Fmoc/tBu SPPS strategy, this result suggested a wide range of potential uses of the Sez amino acid in peptide chemistry, for instance as a viable proline surrogate as well as a selenium probe, complementary to Sec and SeMet, for NMR and mass spectrometry analytical purposes.

Characterization of soluble polymer supported organic compounds by LC/electrospray ionization MS toward a complete automation of the liquid-phase process in combinatorial chemistry.

In the case of a soluble polymer supported synthesis, the tuning of the support solubility depending on the solvent offers new opportunities for combinatorial chemistry for two reasons. First, organic syntheses in solution are generally easily translated on a soluble polymer supported substrate. Second, complete automation of the three successive steps of combinatorial chemistry (synthesis, analytical control, biological test) is approached without releasing the synthesized compound from the support. We report in this paper the preliminary results toward automation of both soluble polymer supported syntheses and their subsequent monitoring by ESI mass spectrometry.

Static secondary ion mass spectrometry to monitor solid-phase peptide synthesis.

Insights into the direct monitoring of supported peptide synthesis were realized through the design of time of flight static secondary ion mass spectrometry (TOF-S-SIMS) experiments. The mass spectrometric method was carried out at the resin bead level and was found reproducible (intra- and inter-day assays), sensitive (femtomol level) and non-destructive (only 0.01% of the peptides were destroyed by the primary ion beam bombardment). The nature of the peptide-resin linkage governed the recovery of ions characterizing the whole peptide sequence. A S-SIMS cleavable bond was thus required solely in that position to achieve the release of the growing structures from the insoluble support into the gas phase without any fragmentation. Results are presented with standard solid-phase resins allowing linkage through an amide or an ester bond. The latter was orthogonally broken upon the bombardment and thus constituted a convenient S-SIMS cleavable bond.

Mass spectrometry and combinatorial chemistry: new approaches for direct support-bound compound identification.

Mass spectrometry is a powerful analytical tool allowing rapid and sensitive structural elucidation of a wide range of molecules issued from solution-, solid- and liquid-phase syntheses. Therefore, mass spectrometry has become the most widely used tool to probe combinatorial libraries. A significant portion of the reported combinatorial data are being produced using solid phase organic synthesis. In contrast to indirect strategies where the tethered structures were released from the support into solution to undergo standard mass spectrometric analyses, static - secondary ion mass spectrometry (S-SIMS) has enabled the identification of support-bound molecules without any chemical treatment of the resin bead. Such non-destructive characterization was applied at the bead level and facilitated the step-by-step monitoring of solid-phase peptide syntheses. Side-reactions were also detected. The relevance of S-SIMS in the rehearsal phase of combinatorial chemistry is demonstrated by comparison with infrared and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopies, the two other techniques investigated in that field. An alternative to solid-phase synthesis consists of assembling molecules on a soluble polymer. This methodology is termed liquid-phase synthesis. Compound characterization is facilitated since the derivatized support is soluble in spectroscopic solvents used in NMR or in electrospray ionization mass spectrometry. The advantages and drawbacks of this approach will be discussed in terms of the direct monitoring of supported reactions during chemistry optimization and rehearsal library validation.

Quantitative determination of rocuronium in human plasma by liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization mass spectrometry.

Liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (LC-ESI-MS) was used for the quantification of the neuromuscular blocking agent rocuronium in human plasma. Verapamil was used as internal standard. The samples were subjected to a dichloromethane liquid-liquid extraction after ion pairing of the positively charged ammonium compound with iodide prior to LC-MS. Optimized conditions involved separation on a Symmetry Shield RP-18 column (50 x 2.1 mm, 3.5 microm) using a 15-min gradient from 10 to 90% acetonitrile in water containing 0.1% trifluoroacetic acid at 250 microl/min. Linear detector responses for standards were observed from 25 to 2,000 ng/ml. The extraction recovery averaged 59% for rocuronium and 83% for the internal standard. The limit of quantification (LOQ), using 500 microl of plasma, was 25 ng/ml. Precision ranged from 1.3 to 19% (LOQ), and accuracy was between 92 and 112%. In plasma samples, at 20 and 4 degrees C, rocuronium was stable at physiological pH for 4 h; frozen at -30 degrees C it was stable for at least 75 days. The method was found suitable for the analysis of samples collected during pharmacokinetic investigations in humans.

Mass spectrometry in combinatorial chemistry.

In the fast expanding field of combinatorial chemistry, profiling libraries has always been a matter of concern--as illustrated by the buoyant literature over the past seven years. Spectroscopic methods, including especially mass spectrometry and to a lesser extent IR and NMR, have been applied at different levels of combinatorial library synthesis: in the rehearsal phase to optimize the chemistry prior to library generation, to confirm library composition, and to characterize after screening each structure that exhibits positive response. Most of the efforts have been concentrated on library composition assessment. The difficulties of such analyses have evolved from the infancy of the combinatorial concept, where large mixtures were prepared, to the recent parallel syntheses of collections of discrete compounds. Whereas the complexity of the analyses has diminished, an increased degree of automation was simultaneously required to achieve efficient library component identification and quantification. In this respect, mass spectrometry has been found to be the method of choice, providing rapid, sensitive, and informative analyses, especially when coupled to chromatographic separation. Fully automated workstations able to cope with several hundreds of compounds per day have been designed. After a brief introduction to describe the combinatorial approach, library characterization will be discussed in detail, considering first the solution-based methodologies and secondly the support-bound material analyses.

Identification of synthetic by-products in combinatorial libraries using high performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization mass spectrometry.

High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI) and high performance liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (LC-MS) were used to analyze randomly chosen samples from parallel syntheses carried out on derivatized polypropylene crowns compatible with a Multipin solid support system. Side-reactions and by-products were clearly identified, and the yields of the expected molecules were unexpectedly low for most samples. LC-MS was superior to HPLC with absorbance detection or electrospray mass spectrometry alone for determining the identity and purity of each desired combinatorial compounds.

Chemical reactivity in matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry

During the control of a multistep organic synthesis on a soluble polymer (PEG) by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) mass spectrometry, a chemical reactivity was encountered when the matrix was acidic, for the samples where the amino moiety of the anchored compounds was protected as a Schiff base. Such imine hydrolysis was proven to be solely mediated by the acidic matrix during analyses since the expected protected structures were detected when the experiments were duplicated with a non-acidic matrix. Even if MALDI mass spectrometry was found to be more convenient than electrospray ionization mass spectrometry for the monitoring of liquid phase organic syntheses, the chemical reactivity imparted by the use of a matrix must be taken into account to avoid erroneous spectra interpretations. Copyright 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Imaging time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry of solid-phase peptide syntheses.

Imaging time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (TOF-SIMS) of solid-phase peptide syntheses carried out by the Merrifield and Sheppard strategies is described. Mixtures of resin beads mixed at random from batch syntheses or obtained in combinatorial chemistry by the mix and split technique, where each bead is functionalized by a unique peptide, were analyzed directly without any chemical cleavage of the growing chains to assess the nature of the growing structure on any bead of the mixture without its isolation.

Some of the amino acid chemistry going on in the Laboratory of Amino Acids, Peptides and Proteins.

Some of the chemistry of amino acids going on in our laboratory (Laboratoire des Amino acides Peptides et Protéines) is described as well as some mass spectrometry methodology for their characterization particularly on solid supports. Several aspects are presented including: (i) the stereoselective synthesis of natural and unnatural amino acids using 2-hydroxypinan-3-one as chiral auxiliary; (ii) the stereoselective synthesis of natural and unnatural amino acids by deracemization of alpha-amino acids via their ketene derivatives; (iii) the synthesis of alpha-aryl-alpha-amino acids via reaction of organometallics with a glycine cation; (iv) the diastereoselective synthesis of glycosyl-alpha-amino acids; (v) the synthesis of beta-amino acids using alpha-aminopyrrolidinopiperazinediones as chiral templates; (vi) the reactivity of urethane-N-protected N-carboxyanhydrides. To characterize natural and non natural amino acids through their immonium ions by mass spectrometry, some methodology is also described.