Peptide Bond Synthesis

The demonstration of the enzymatic formation of p-aminohippuric acid (PAH) from p-aminobenxoic acid (PAB) and glycine (1) has made available a convenient model system for the study of peptide bond synthesis. Because of the complex metabolic relationships existent in surviving tissue and such considerations as diffusion and permeability, the tissue slice technique employed in the preliminary study is of limited value in studying the mechanism and kinetics of the reaction. For this reason, we have turned to the homogenate technique, since it provides a relatively uniform tissue material dispersed to the point where many endogenous reactions are suppressed.