Reflecting recent work in the

Researchers in the Thomson lab report a simple reductive amination protocol to ligate two peptides, while simultaneously installing a β-turn mimic at the ligation junction. Their strategy uses commercially available materials, mild chemical conditions, and a chemoselective ligation reaction of unprotected peptide substrates accessed through standard solid phase methods. This system was implemented in a designed β-hairpin system, and biophysical analysis demonstrates effective mimicry of the β-turn.