title: Design, synthesis, and metal binding of novel Pseudo- oligopeptides containing two phosphinic acid groups.
abstract: Phosphinic compounds have potential as amide-bond mimetics in the development of novel peptidomimetics, enzyme inhibitors, and metal-binding ligands. Novel pseudo-oligopeptides with two phosphinic acid groups embedded in the peptide backbone serving as amide-bond surrogates, Psi[P(O,OH)--CH(2)], were targeted. A series of linear and cyclic pseudo-oligopeptides with two phosphinic acid groups arrayed at different positions in the peptide sequence were designed, including Ac--Phe--{(R,S)--AlaPsi[P(O,OH)--CH(2)]Gly}(2)--NH(2) (P2), Ac--NH--(R,S)--AlaPsi[P(O,OH)--CH(2)]Gly--Phe--(R,S)--AlaPsi[P(O,OH)--CH(2)]Gly--NH(2) (P3), Ac--NH--(R,S)--AlaPsi[P(O,OH)--CH(2)]Gly--Phe--Phe--(R,S) --AlaPsi[P(O,OH)--CH(2)]Gly--NH(2) (P4), cyclo{NH--(R,S)--AlaPsi[P(O,OH)--CH(2)]Gly--Phe}(2) (P5), and cyclo[NH--(R,S)--AlaPsi[P(O,OH)--CH(2)]Gly--Phe--Phe](2) (P6). They were synthesized via conventional Fmoc chemistry on solid support utilizing Fmoc-protected phosphinic acid-containing pseudo-dipeptide fragment, i.e. Fmoc--(R,S)--AlaPsi[P(O,OCH(3))--CH(2)]Gly--OH. The pseudo-peptides containing two phosphinic acid groups exhibited the highest binding affinity and selectivity for Fe(III) among the 10-metal ions screened by ESI-MS analysis--Cu(II), Zn(II), Co(II), Ni(II), Mn(II), Fe(II), Fe(III), Al(III), Ga(III), and Gd(III). P4 and P6 with 11-atom linkages between the two phosphinic acids preferred intramolecular metal binding to form 1:1 ligand/metal complexes. As revealed by competition experiments, P4 showed the highest relative binding affinity among the six compounds tested. Noteworthy, P4 also showed higher relative binding affinity than similar dihydroxamate-containing pseudo-peptides reported previously. The novel structural prototype and facile synthesis along with selective and potent Fe(III) binding strongly suggest that pseudo-peptides containing the two or more phosphinic groups as amide-bond surrogates deserve further exploration in medicinal chemistry.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Washington University School of Medicine, 660 S. Euclid Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA.
authors.forename: Yunpeng
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ye
authors.forename: Min
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Jeff L-F
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Kao
authors.forename: Garland R
authors.initials: GR
authors.lastname: Marshall
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D040761:Biomimetic Materials / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000737:chemistry*; D008670:Metals / Q000737:chemistry*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D019906:Nuclear Magnetic Resonance, Biomolecular; D009842:Oligopeptides / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000737:chemistry*; D010721:Phosphinic Acids / Q000032:analysis / Q000737:chemistry*; D021241:Spectrometry, Mass, Electrospray Ionization
chemical_list: D008670:Metals; D009842:Oligopeptides; D010721:Phosphinic Acids