Insights into the Mechanism and Catalysis of the Native Chemical Ligation Reaction

Native chemical ligation of unprotected peptide segments involves reaction between a peptide-alpha-thioester and a cysteine-peptide, to yield a product with a native amide bond at the ligation site. Peptide-alpha-thioalkyl esters are commonly used because of their ease of preparation. These thioalkyl esters are rather unreactive so the ligation reaction is catalyzed by in situ transthioesterification with thiol additives. The most common thiol catalysts used to date have been either a mixture of thiophenol/benzyl mercaptan, or the alkanethiol MESNA. Despite the use of these thiol catalysts, ligation reactions typically take 24-48 h. To gain insight into the mechanism of native chemical ligaton and in order to…