Investigation of epimer formation in amide coupling reactions: an experiment for advanced undergraduate students

An experiment is described to investigate how the choice of coupling agent and reaction conditions affects the ratio of epimers formed in the sensitive amide-coupling reaction between N-Boc or N-benzoyl (R)-phenylglycine and (S)-valine methyl ester. The experiment, which is suitable for third-year undergraduates, is designed to teach about important synthetic methods and reaction mechanisms, and to develop skills in designing experiments, data analysis, and team work

Solution-Phase Synthesis of Dipeptides: A Capstone Project That Employs Key Techniques in an Organic Laboratory Course

A contemporary approach to the synthesis and purification of several UV-active dipeptides has been developed for the second-year organic laboratory. This experiment exposes students to the important technique of solution-phase peptide synthesis and allows an instructor to highlight the parallel between what they are accomplishing in the laboratory to the advancements being made in the pharmaceutical industry. By illustrating the importance of protecting group strategy and stereochemistry preservation, while also reinforcing the various separatory and purification techniques learned throughout the typical laboratory course, this experiment serves as an excellent candidate for a capstone project that assesses students\u27 mastery of important techniques learned in an introductory organic laboratory course