Dedicated to Professor Scott E. Denmark
Published as part of the Special Section dedicated to Scott E. Denmark on the occasion of his 65th birthday
Abstract
Substituents at Cγ of proline are valuable probes to tune the trans/cis ratio of Xaa–Pro bonds. We investigated the effect of Cγ-substituents on the reactivity and stereoselectivity of the peptidic catalyst H-dPro-Pro-Glu-NH2. Derivatives that bear electron-withdrawing and -donating substituents (OH, F, N3, and SMe) at Cγ of the middle Pro-residue were examined. The results show that substituents at a 4R-configured Cγ hardly affect the stereoselectivity of the peptidic catalyst whereas substituents at a 4S-configured Cγ can be used to tune and improve the catalytic performance.
Key words
proline - peptides -
trans/
cis isomerization - organocatalysis - conjugate addition reactions