Oxidative Modification of Tryptophan-Containing Peptides

We herein present a broadly useful method for the chemoselective modification of a wide range of tryptophan-containing peptides. Exposing a tryptophan-containing peptide to 2,3-dichloro-5,6-dicyano-1,4-benzoquinone (DDQ) resulted in a selective cyclodehydration between the peptide backbone and the indole side chain of tryptophan to form a fully conjugated indolyl-oxazole moiety.

The modified peptides show a characteristic and significant emission maximum at 425 nm, thus making the method a useful strategy for fluorescence labeling.