Solid-phase synthesis and CD spectroscopic investigations of novel beta-peptides from L-aspartic acid and beta-amino-L-alanine.

[structure: see text] A solid-phase synthesis method for the preparation of novel beta3- and beta2-peptides derived from l-aspartic acid and beta-amino-l-alanine, respectively, is described. The methodology allows independent buildup of the beta-peptide backbone and the introduction of sequential side chain substitutions. Representative peptides from the two classes, an amino-substituted beta3-hexapeptide and an acyl-substituted beta2-hexapeptide, have been prepared, and their solution conformation is studied by circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy.