| abstract |
A process is disclosed for preparing a carboxyalkyl dipeptide compound which comprises:n (a) protecting a peptide with a protecting group which is an a-fluorinated acyl group represented by the general formula:n nwherein: Z is, e.g., C 1 -C 12 alkyl, aryl of C 6 or C 10 , or heterocyclic groups of up to C 7 containing an 0, N or S heteroatom; (b) coupling said protected peptide or amino acid with another peptide or amino acid to obtain a protected dipeptide; (c) reductively alkylating said protected dipeptide with a keto acid or keto ester; and, (d) hydrolyzing said reductively alkylated dipeptide to simultaneously remove said protecting group therefrom and recover said carboxyalkyl dipeptide compound. n The protecting groups employed in this process permit them to be removed concurrently with obtaining the desired dipeptide compounds thereby avoiding the need for step-wise removal of such groups in separate reactions before the desired dipeptide compounds can be obtained. |