Propose innovative ideas for eco-friendly alternatives to trifluoroacetic acid in solid-phase peptide synthesis
25 March 2024
Manufacturing peptide medicines involves trifluoroacetic acid (TFA), a chemical that is hard to degrade due to the strength of the carbon-fluoride bond. Through our latest call for proposals, we invite you to propose environmentally friendly alternatives to TFA that enable peptide release from its resin support during solid phase peptide synthesis. Share innovative solutions to advance more sustainable peptide synthesis and stand a chance to get funded!
Submit your proposals for the following question:
How would you propose to avoid the use of trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) for resin cleavage and deprotection of synthetic peptides using an alternative reagent cocktail, to advance more sustainable peptide synthesis?
We are looking for well-structured research collaboration proposals that outline potential solutions. The solution could involve a combination of reagents, including an appropriate acidic agent plus diluents that ensure resin swelling and peptide solubility plus nucleophilic scavenger to quench reactive intermediates. In addition, alternative methods for capturing the raw peptide that avoid handling of potentially highly bioactive solids and flammable solvents could also provide additional value.
Behind this initiative is Boehringer Ingelheim’s Innovation Unit (IU) More Green Grants program, whose intent is to minimize the environmental footprint of future medicines through sustainable science, technology, and innovation. If your project is selected, you can expect appropriate funding of up to USD 80,000 for an intended 12-month collaboration period. You will also collaborate with the Peptide Teams in Medicinal Chemistry and Development NCE team of Boehringer Ingelheim and gain exclusive access to company expertise and know-how.
Apply soon as your proposals can only be accepted if they arrive by May 28, 2024 11:59 pm PST.
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About our opn2EXPERTS question:
How would you propose to avoid the use of trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) for resin cleavage and deprotection of synthetic peptides using an alternative reagent cocktail, to advance more sustainable peptide synthesis? With ambitious questions like this, we aim to improve the environmental footprint of the technologies that form the basis of our future medicines with the potential to transform patients' lives.
About opnMe:
opnMe.com, the new open innovation portal of Boehringer Ingelheim, aims to accelerate research initiatives to enable new insights of disease biology in areas of high unmet medical need by sharing well-characterized molecules and offer collaborations for science. In the spirit of collaboration, our molecules are provided to the scientific community to help unlock and fulfill their full potential. These molecules are either freely available as “Molecules to Order” or applied via scientific research submissions as “Molecules for Collaboration”. As part of our third pillar, our “opn2EXPERTS” program, we also enlist scientific advice on key biologic issues to fuel further drug discovery and deliver novel solutions that benefit unmet patient needs, such as our latest call on leveraging spatial multi-omics profiling to characterize fibrotic disease mechanisms.