Click chemistry as a macrocyclization tool in the solid-phase synthesis of small cyclic peptides

Despite the vast number of techniques developed for the cyclization of small peptides, cyclization efficiency remains problematic in peptides that lack turn-promoting structures. Here we demonstrate the utility of click chemistry as a macrocyclization tool in the solid-phase synthesis of cyclic tetra-, penta-, hexa-, and heptapeptides. On-resin cyclization is completed at room temperature within 6 h, resulting in predominantly monomer with small amounts of cyclomultimer byproducts.