The development of robust and highly selective catalysts is important for the production of a range of industrial compounds. Synthetic peptides offer a rich pool of catalysts, given their inherent chirality and ease of synthesis. Additionally, solid phase peptide synthesis allows for the use of combinatorial chemistry techniques, enabling the efficient creation of sizable libraries of potential catalysts. One limitation to using combinatorial libraries to develop catalysts is the ability to evaluate large numbers of library members for catalytic ability. We seek to develop a colorimetric competitive displacement assay to efficiently screen reaction progress and thus evaluate the activity of potential catalysts. Colorimetric competitive displacement has been used to detect small molecule analytes in solution, which we have adapted to detect the product of a direct aldol reaction. Specifically, the aldol product displaces a dye from a phenylboronic acid receptor, resulting in a change in the absorbance of the dye, which can be used to monitor reaction progress. We have synthesized a small library of potential catalytic peptides and used them to catalyze direct aldol reactions, monitoring reaction progress using this type of colorimetric displacement. Further development of this assay will provide an efficient colorimetric method for screening libraries of potential catalytic peptides.<br/>

Developing a colorimetric competitive displacement assay to screen for catalytic peptides

253rd National Meeting (2017)

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