Peptide Modification Technologies

Pepmotec is a custom and specialist peptide synthesis provider for the academic and biotechnology community.

Our team have over 25 years' experience in peptide drug design, synthesis and analysis. 

We have two locations: Durham in the North East of England, and Edinburgh in Scotland.

Our labs are equipped with the latest technologies for custom amino acid, peptide and peptiodmimetic synthesis and characterisation. Being based in university chemistry departments, we have access to world class instrumentation such as NMR, mass spectrometers, circular dichroism spec and tissue culture facilities. 

We routinely perform custom peptide synthesis for our clients, typically using automated Fmoc solid phase peptide synthesis. We can provide highly pure peptides on the 10s of milligram scale. Modification of your peptides is our speciality - whether you require peptide stapling, fluorescent labelling or something more unusual, we are able to help. 

Perfluoroaromatic reagents are perhaps one of the most diverse and exciting tools with which to modify peptides and proteins, due principally to their nucleophilic substitution chemistry, high electron deficiency and the ability for their reactivity to be tuned towards specific nucleophiles. In recent years, perfluoroaromatic reagents have found applications as protecting groups or activating groups in peptide synthesis and as orthogonal handles for peptide modification. Furthermore, they have applications in chemoselective ‘tagging’, stapling and bioconjugation of peptides and proteins, as well as tuning of ‘drug-like’ properties. 

Check out our recent review on this topic

Our team are world-leaders in the incorporation of fluorinated 'tags' into synthetic peptides and recombinant proteins. We have developed methods to:

1. tag peptide side chains with perfluoroheteroaromatic reagents (Link)

2. control the chemioselectivity, so that only cysteine are 'tagged' (Link)

3. use the regiocontrolled di-substitution of perfluoroaromatics to 'staple' peptides (Link)

4. use 19F NMR to study the 'stapling' of peptides using perfluorinated reagents (Link)

5. use 19F NMR to probe the cis-trans conformation of proline-containing peptides (Link)

5. use polyfluorinated porphyrins as a scaffold for peptide multicyclisation (Link)

At Pepmotec we have a proven track record in the design, preparation and characteristion of peptoid and peptide-peptoid hybrid systems. If you are interested in incorporating peptoids into your research programmes then please get in touch. 

Peptoid design and biophysical properties 

H. L. Bolt and S. L. Cobb , Org. Biomol. Chem., 2016, 14 , 1211 —1215 A practical method for the synthesis of peptoids containing both lysine-type and arginine-type monomers - Organic & Biomolecular Chemistry (RSC Publishing)

D. Gimenez , J. A. Aguilar , E. H. C. Bromley and S. L. Cobb , Angew. Chem., Int. Ed., 2018, 57 , 10549 —10553 Stabilising Peptoid Helices Using Non‐Chiral Fluoroalkyl Monomers - Gimenez - 2018 - Angewandte Chemie International Edition - Wiley Online Library

D. Gimenez , G. Zhou , M. F. D. Hurley , J. A. Aguilar , V. A. Voelz and S. L. Cobb , J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2019, 141 , 3430 —3434 Fluorinated Aromatic Monomers as Building Blocks To Control α-Peptoid Conformation and Structure | Journal of the American Chemical Society (acs.org)

Peptoid applications in drug discovery 

Chem. Commun., 2020,56, 11158-11168 Recent advances in the development of anti-infective peptoids - Chemical Communications (RSC Publishing)

H. L. Bolt , G. A. Eggimann , C. A. B. Jahoda , R. N. Zuckermann , G. J. Sharples and S. L. Cobb , MedChemComm, 2017, 8 , 886 —896 Exploring the links between peptoid antibacterial activity and toxicity - MedChemComm (RSC Publishing)

G. A. Eggimann , H. L. Bolt , P. W. Denny and S. L. Cobb , ChemMedChem, 2015, 10 , 233 —237 Investigating the Anti‐leishmanial Effects of Linear Peptoids - Eggimann - 2015 - ChemMedChem - Wiley Online Library

H. L. Bolt , G. A. Eggimann , P. W. Denny and S. L. Cobb , MedChemComm, 2016, 7 , 799 —805  Enlarging the chemical space of anti-leishmanials: a structure–activity relationship study of peptoids against Leishmania mexicana, a causative agent of cutaneous leishmaniasis - MedChemComm (RSC Publishing)