Disulfide bonded cyclic peptide dimers and trimers: An easy entry to high symmetry peptide frameworks

The preparation of the large molecules required for molecular recognition s tudies in practical quantities is possible by assembling large building blo cks with the desired chemical and conformational properties. The versatilit y of solid-phase peptide synthesis and the present knowledge of the rules t hat govern the adoption of particular secondary structures by peptides can be usefully exploited in this context. The analysis of the symmetry propert ies of many target geometrical structures naturally leads to their material ization as cyclic oligomers. Disulfide bond formation under either kinetic or thermodynamic control offers an easy entry to these systems.