Here, we report the efficient solid-phase synthesis of N-propargyl peptides using Fmoc-amino acids and propargyl alcohol as key building blocks. Gold-catalyzed nucleophilic addition to the triple bond induced C-N bond formation, which triggered intramolecular cyclization, yielding 1,3,4-trisubstituted-5-methyl-3,4-dihydropyrazin-2(1H)-ones. Conformations of acyclic and constrained peptides were compared using a two-step conformer distribution analysis at the molecular mechanics level and density functional theory. The results indicated that the incorporation of heterocyclic molecular scaffold into a short peptide sequence adopted extended conformation of peptide chain. The amide bond adjacent to the constraint did not show significant preference for either cis or trans isomerism. Prepared model compounds demonstrate a proof of concept for gold-catalyzed polymer-supported synthesis of variously substituted 3,4-dihydropyrazin-2(1H)-ones for applications in drug discovery and peptide backbone constraints.

Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry 251 Nieuwland Science Center University of Notre Dame Notre Dame Indiana 46556 United States

Department of Organic Chemistry Faculty of Science Palacký University 17 Listopadu 12 771 46 Olomouc Czech Republic

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