Leveraging a “Catch–Release” Logic Gate Process for the Synthesis and Nonchromatographic Purification of Thioether- or Amine-Bridged Macrocyclic Peptides

Macrocyclic peptides containing N-alkylated amino acids have emerged as a promising therapeutic modality, capable of modulating protein–protein interactions and an intracellular delivery of hydrophilic payloads. While multichannel automated solid-phase peptide synthesis (SPPS) is a practical approach for peptide synthesis, the requirement for slow and inefficient chromatographic purification of the product peptides is a significant limitation to exploring these novel compounds. Herein, we invent a “catch–release” strategy for the nonchromatographic purification of macrocyclic peptides. A traceless catch process is enabled by the invention of a dual-functionalized N-terminal acetate analogue, which serves as a handle for capture onto a purification resin and as a leaving group for macrocyclization. Displacement by a C-terminal nucleophilic side chain thus releases the desired macrocycle from the purification resin. By design, this catch/release process is a logic test for the presence of the key components required for cyclization, thus removing impurities which lack the required functionality, such as common classes of peptide impurities, including hydrolysis fragments and truncated sequences. The method was shown to be highly effective with three libraries of macrocyclic peptides, containing macrocycles of 5–20 amino acids, with either thioether- or amine-based macrocyclic linkages; in this latter class, the reported method represents an enabling technology. In all cases, the catch–release protocol afforded significant enrichment of the target peptides purity, in many cases completely obviating the need for chromatography. Importantly, we have adapted this process for automation on a standard multichannel peptide synthesizer, achieving an efficient and completely integrated synthesis and purification platform for the preparation of these important molecules