Cyanamide-Induced Desulfhydration Enables Access to α,β-Dehydropeptides
Abstract
Dehydroamino acids are found in natural products, disease-associated proteins, and are used for the diversification of proteins and peptides. The synthesis of peptide sequences containing dehydroamino acids remains nontrivial and only a few chemical methods allow for their incorporation. We report the conversion of amino acid residues bearing β-thiols into dehydroamino acids through the treatment of unprotected peptides and proteins with cyanamide under mild, fully aqueous conditions that are compatible with commonly used buffer salts.
Fields of Study & Subjects
Chemical Synthesis and Analysis
Advanced Synthetic Organic Chemistry
Click Chemistry and Applications
Publication details
- Journal / source
- Organic Letters
- Publisher
- American Chemical Society (ACS)
- Volume
- 28
- Issue
- 36
- Pages
- 11303–11308
- Publication date
- 31 August 2026
- Language
- EN