Artificial Amino Acid

This blog was done to show the artificial amino acid that was designed


Synthesis of the Amino Acid



The process shown above is a Strecker synthesis.  The starting material is an aldehyde; 4,4-dimethylpental. The NH4Cl/NaCN forms and alpha amino nitrile that is names 2-amino-4,4-dimethylpentanenitrile.  The H3O+ allows for the amino nitrile to be hydrolyzed to an amino acid.  The amino acid is named 2-amino-4,4-dimethylpentanoic acid.


The pentapeptide structure that is sketched below is in the form CGXHA, in which the artificial amino acid is substituted in for X.





Sources
ACD/ChemSketch
Smith, J.G. Organic Chemistry. 3rd Edition. McGraw-Hill. New York. 2006. pp.1078-1081.