Investigating the Organic Synthesis of Dityrosine

You have reached the page dedicated to research investigating an efficient organic synthesis of the dityrosine molecule. This research is carried out by Monmouth College undergraduate Katelyn Richter under the supervision of Dr. Bradley Sturgeon.

Introduction

New interest in peptides and proteins containing cross-linked tyrosine residues has been on the rise due to the positive biological properties they can bring to the structures they reside in. Some examples of said biological properties include increased stabilization of structures, conformational restriction of cyclic peptides, and variation in the electronic properties seen in enzyme active sites.[1] The possibilities of application in biological systems make tyrosine dimers a molecule of great intrigue. Due to the necessary great lengths taken to isolate tyrosine and dityrosine in an industrial setting, this molecule is quite expensive. For this reason, an efficient organic synthesis pathway of dityrosine derivatives as well as their biological properties will be explored in this project.

Synthesis

Below is the synthesis pathway utilized to make dityrosine:

File:Dityrosine synthesis.pdf