A General Approach to Optically Pure, α-Methyl Non-Natural Amino Acids: Enabling Unique Peptides as Drug Candidates.

An α-methyl, non-natural amino acid (NNAA) building block equipped with an alkyl halide tail that could be readily transformed into an organozinc was prepared. This single organometallic was cross-coupled to an array of heterocyclic electrophiles using the Pd-PEPPSI-IHept Cl catalyst to produce a wide selection of optically pure α-methyl NNAAs. With these in hand, non-natural peptides are being produced for evaluation in a variety of therapeutic areas in drug discovery.