Contents


Preface

Peptide synthesis includes an array of techniques and procedures that enable the preparation of materials ranging from small peptides to large proteins. The pioneering work of Bruce Merrifield, which introduced solid phase peptide synthesis (SPPS), dramatically changed the strategy of peptide synthesis. But efficient synthesis of long chain and difficult peptide sequences is still troublesome because of the tendency to aggregation. Moreover low solubility of these peptides makes synthesis and purification laborious. This book gives a detailed review on synthesis and applications of synthetic peptides. Various aspects of solid phase peptide synthesis including different resins, linkers and synthesis techniques are discussed in detail. A novel method utilizing '*O*-isoacylpeptide' for the effective synthesis of long and difficult peptide sequences is presented. A section is devoted to a discussion of antimicrobial peptides, especially on the activity of defensin-like

This book is intended for those researchers who wish to study the synthesis of long chain and difficult peptides or who wish to become actively involved in the production of long chain peptides. As such it strives to provide practical information on the common problems relating to many aspects of synthetic peptides. At the same time this book is current and comprehensive and will be of general interest to peptide

> **Jaya T. Varkey, PhD** St. Teresa's College, Kochi, Kerala, India

peptides.

chemists.
