Cover Feature: Peptide Head‐to‐Tail Cyclization: A “Molecular Claw” Approach (22/2021)

Abstract

The Cover Feature shows a schematic impression of the “molecular claw” approach that enables an effective head (C-terminus)-to-tail (N-terminus) cyclization of peptides. Tag-assisted liquid phase peptide synthesis in combination with a backbone amide linker strategy is generally applicable to the head-to-tail cyclization, leading to the efficient synthesis of the cyclic heptapeptide stellarin E. The key for successful cyclization is found to be the tagging position that enables the peptide to be grabbed at the center as in a claw-like machine. More information can be found in the Communication by K. Chiba et al.