Abstract: | Synthetic lipopeptides are showing promise as vaccine candidates, but until now it has been very difficult to prepare them in homogeneous form. We describe the synthesis and characterization of a new water-soluble, four-branched template with a built-in lipophilic adjuvant (Pam3Cys). Through the use of oxime chemistry, we attached four copies of an unprotected influenza virus peptide and characterized the product (13kDa) by reversed-phase HPLC and electrospray ionization mass spectrometry. Several other such constructions were made using the new template and different peptides. We seem to have a general method for making synthetic lipopeptides in homogeneous form. |