March 18th, 2023 | Updated on April 20th, 2023
Small polymers of amino acids called synthetic peptides are created chemically. According to this analogy, synthetic peptides are highly important for proteins, just the way oligos are to DNA.
The first tiny proteins were chemically produced in the 1950s and 1960s using a method known for 100 years: creating a peptide link between two amino acids.
In a nutshell, the synthesis reaction entails connecting an amino acid’s carboxyl group to the amino group of the amino acid that came before it in the peptide chain.
To stop undesirable reactions, some reactive groups on the side chains and termini must be chemically shielded.
What Distinguishes Recombinant Polypeptides From Synthetic Ones?
Synthetic peptides are created through chemical peptide synthesis, whereas recombinant polypeptides, or proteins, are created utilising recombinant DNA procedures.
Compared to recombinant proteins, synthetic peptides offer various advantages, such as the capacity to be produced as perfect duplicates of protein fragments.
Recombinant polypeptides typically only contain L-amino acids, whereas synthetic peptides can have both types. Synthetic peptides can also use D-amino acids.
In some cases, this can aid in boosting proteolytic activity. Synthetic peptides can also have a wider variety of non-proteinogenic amino acids than recombinant proteins, which is only achievable using alternative codons.
Why Are Synthetic Peptides Used?
For starters, they are simple to create, and unlike recombinant proteins, they do not require downstream purification or cell culture systems. You can swiftly synthesise many SH3 binding motifs if you need to examine one or more.
Second, you can separate various proteins’ components, such as binding sites or kinase substrates.
The existence of extra features, domains, or motifs in full-length proteins can skew this kind of experiment. Peptides may falter, though, if an interaction is complicated.
Third, high-throughput experiments, such as those that examine peptide libraries or measure binding kinetics, are simple to conduct, given how simple it is to produce synthetic peptides in huge quantities.
A significant amount of preparation is necessary to create good material for kinetics measurements on purified proteins, and your options are limited to a few different protein analytes at once.
Applications Of Synthetic Peptide Usage:
- Preventive Medicines: Peptide synthesis and antibody sequencing services enable in vitro antibody production without animal hosts, allowing for custom gene synthesis and antibody production.
- Protein Production: Amino acids are the fundamental building blocks of peptides and proteins, composed of polypeptide chains joined together by amide bonds.
- Peptide therapeutics: An emerging medical field that uses peptides and polypeptides to treat or manage illnesses.
- Medical Imaging: Proteins and peptides are the most popular radiolabeled molecules used in isotopic labelling due to their high binding affinity and specificity.
- Nutraceuticals: These offer medical benefits over nutritional benefits, such as probiotics, prebiotics, polyunsaturated fats, and antioxidants.
- Food Preservation: Protein expression and purification services are essential for industrial-scale food preservation, as antimicrobial peptides are essential for preventing pathogenic attacks.
Final Thoughts
Thus after learning the six applications of synthetic peptides, we cannot deny that synthetic peptides have the benefit of being produced as perfect replicas of protein fragments and in a variety of chemical modifications, such as adding a wide variety of non-proteinogenic amino acids and changes to the peptide backbone.
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