Studies on Peptides

The heptacosapeptide amide corresponding to the entire amino acid sequence of gastrin-releasing peptide (GRP) was synthesized by assembling seven peptide fragments followed by deprotection with a new reagent system, IM trifluoromethanesulfonic acid-thioanisole in TFA. The deprotected peptide was purified by ion-exchange chromatography on CM-cellulose followed by partition chromatography on Sephadex G-25. The latter was found to remove effectively the Met (O) derivative of GRP. The highly purified synthetic GRP was active as synthetic bombesin on the molar basis. A new carboxyl-activating reagent, thiazoline-2-thione, was employed for preparation of the necessary fragments.