Amino Acids, Peptides and Proteins Volume 36 A Specialist Periodical Report Amino Acids, Peptides and Proteins Volume 36 A Review of the Literature Published during 2003–2004. Editor J.S. Davies, University of Wales, Swansea, UK Authors D.T. Elmore, Oxfordshire, UK E. Farkas, University of Debrecen, Hungary B. Penke, University Szeged, Hungary I. So´va´go´, University of Debrecen, Hungary G. To´th, University Szeged, Hungary G. Va´radi, University Szeged, Hungary M. Zarandi, University Szeged, Hungary If you buy this title on standing order, you will be given FREE access to the chapters online. Please contact
[email protected] with proof of purchase to arrange access to be set up. Thank you ISBN 978-0-85404-252-4 ISSN 1361-5904 A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library r The Royal Society of Chemistry 2007 All rights reserved Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of research or private study, or criticism or review as permitted under the terms of the UK Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, this publication may not be reproduced, stored or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of The Royal Society of Chemistry, or in the case of reprographic reproduction only in accordance with the terms of the licences issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency in the UK, or in accordance with the terms of the licences issued by the appropriate Reproduction Rights Organization outside the UK. Enquiries concerning reproduction outside the terms stated here should be sent to The Royal Society of Chemistry at the address printed on this page. Published by The Royal Society of Chemistry, Thomas Graham House, Science Park, Milton Road, Cambridge CB4 0WF, UK Registered Charity Number 207890 For further information see our web site at www.rsc.org Typeset by Macmillan India Ltd, Bangalore, India Printed by Henry Ling Ltd, Dorchester, Dorset, UK Preface DOI: 10.1039/b710329h Dr Geoffrey Young, as editor of the first volume in this series in 1968, commented that ‘one could hardly ask for a more exciting time at which to review the field’. As a Chapter author, since those early days, I have seen the exciting times continue and the many volumes in this series have been party to great developments in the field. Solid phase synthesis, in its infancy in 1968, has revolutionised the making and manufacturing of peptides and no doubt the number and complexity of the peptides being made these days can only have been dreamt of 40 years ago. The availability of cloned proteins has made available molecular receptors, that now can routinely be used in molecular recognition studies, so that the development of efficient inhibitors has a much more rational basis. The principles of solid phase peptide synthesis have spawned not only a new approach to enhancing the pool of peptides available, but also the discipline of combinatorial chemistry. Numerous novel amino acids have been identified, and research in molecular recognition has increased the demand for novel non-proteinogenic amino acids. Thus developments in asymmetric synthesis have found excellent opportunities in the amino acid context, whose syntheses now depend less on the traditional resolution of synthesised racemates. These Specialist Reports have co-existed with the establishment of major international peptide societies, the American, European and Japanese Peptid