Synthesis of Alanyl-1-aminoethanesulfonic Acid

For the purpose of the verification of an expectation that the structural analogs of d-alanyl-d-alanine which participates in the biosynthesis of cell wall peptides might inhibit the growth of microorganisms, alanyl-1-aminoethanesulfonic acid was synthesized by the mixed anhydride method. Four diastereomers were separated and their absolute configurations were deduced on the basis of X-ray analysis. None of these dipeptide analogs and their benzyloxycarbonyl or t-butoxycarbonyl derivatives showed appreciable activity against E. coli.