6814 J. Am. Chem. Soc., Vol. 122, No. 29, 2000
Shi and Rabenstein
The rate law and k′ vs pH dependence for the reaction of
[Pt(en)2Cl2]2+ with 8 are similar to those found for reactions
between trans-dichloro-platinum(IV) complexes and monothiols
such as glutathione.23,24 By analogy with the reaction mecha-
nisms proposed previously for the oxidation of monothiols by
Pt(IV) complexes,23,24 a reaction mechanism for oxidation of
peptide 8 by [Pt(en)2Cl2]2+ is described in Scheme 1. The
reaction proceeds through a transition state in which Cl+ is
transferred from the Pt(IV) center to an incoming thiol or thiolate
nucleophile.6,9,23-26 The mechanism in Scheme 1 shows all
possible protonation states of 8 under the reaction conditions
used in the kinetic study.27 However, as described above, there
is little or no oxidation of peptide 8 by [Pt(en)2Cl2]2+ in 1.00
M HCl, which indicates that oxidation of the fully protonated
form of the peptide is negligibly slow. The reactions described
by k2 and k3 are the rate-determining steps and are assumed to
take place via parallel attack by thiol and thiolate on the
coordinated chloride, resulting in a Cl+ transfer from [Pt(en)2-
Cl2]2+ to the attacking group.6,9,23-26 The intermediates formed,
denoted by I and II in Scheme 1, then undergo an intramolecular
nucleophilic attack to form the disulfide bond. The rates of
formation of the disulfide bond from intermediates I and II are
expected to be largely controlled by conformational changes,
which are expected to be fast relative to the atom transfer step.28
This is similar to what has been found in detailed studies of
the kinetics of formation of intramolecular disulfide bonds in
peptides such as 9-11 by thiol-disulfide exchange,29,30 where
the nucleophilic displacement reaction in the second step of the
overall intramolecular disulfide bond forming reaction is
formally similar to the nucleophilic displacement of Cl- from
intermediates I and II. The relatively fast rates of ring closure
by formation of intramolecular disulfide bonds by thiol-
disulfide exchange reactions, even in the formation of the
disulfide bond to give the 38-membered ring of somatostatin,
are attributed to high effective concentrations of the attacking
thiolate. 29,30
The reaction rate increases almost exponentially as the
solution pH is increased, which indicates that the thiolate anion
is much more reactive than the protonated thiol forms.23,24 Thus,
at the pHs used in the kinetic studies, the reaction described by
k3 in Scheme 1 is the predominant oxidation pathway, while
the reaction path described by k2 contributes only slightly to
the overall reaction at pH 3-5.
Reaction mechanisms similar to that described in Scheme 1
can be derived for the other peptides in Table 1. However, for
peptide 14, reaction intermediates similar to I and II in Scheme
1 apparently undergo ring closure reactions more slowly due
to steric hindrance from the two methyl groups on the deamino-
penicillamine residue. Under such circumstances, the reaction
intermediates are sufficiently long-lived that hydrolysis to form
RSOH competes with ring closure by nucleophilic displacement
of Cl-. The RSOH formed can then be further oxidized to give
RSO2H and RSO3H, or it can undergo intermolecular reactions
with the thiol or thiolate groups of other molecules, resulting
in formation of dimers and higher polymers.6 This may explain
the presence of up to ∼3% side reaction products in the
oxidation of peptide 14, as indicated by the extra peaks in the
chromatograms shown in Figure 4.
It also is of interest to compare the properties of [Pt(en)2Cl2]2+
with those of [Pt(CN)4Cl2]2- as an oxidant for the formation of
intramolecular disulfide bonds in peptides. [Pt(CN)4Cl2]2- is a
somewhat stronger oxidizing agent, as indicated by its redox
potential, and as a result it can rapidly convert dithiol peptides
to their disulfide forms at lower pH (1-3) than [Pt(en)2Cl2]2+
.
The disadvantage, however, is that [Pt(CN)4Cl2]2- is a suf-
ficiently strong oxidizing agent that it can oxidize the sulfur of
the methionine side chain. Similar reaction rates can be achieved
with [Pt(en)2Cl2]2+ by carrying out the reaction at higher pH
(4-7) where a larger fraction is in the thiolate form; however,
oxidation of the methionine sulfur, which is a pH-independent
oxidation, does not occur.
The advantages and limitations of other reagents for forming
intrapeptide disulfide bonds, including the metal complexes
[Fe(CN)6]3- and Tl(tfa)3 and nonmetallic oxidants such as
oxygen, disulfides, dimethyl sulfoxide, iodine, and a mixture
of methyltrichlorosilane-diphenylsulfoxide, have been de-
scribed in previous publications, including the comprehensive
review by Annis et al.1c In general, these reagents are nonselec-
tive toward formation of intrapeptide disulfide bonds; dimers
and higher oligomers can also form and the oxidation conditions
need to be optimized with respect to pH, solvent, and concentra-
tions of peptide and oxidant. Also, depending on the oxidant,
side products can be formed by reaction with the side chains of
Met, Trp, and Tyr. In contrast, the results presented here show
that [Pt(en)2Cl2]2+ is a highly selective oxidant for the formation
of intramolecular disulfide bonds over a range of solution
conditions.
Conclusions. We have discovered a highly selective and
efficient reagent, trans-[Pt(en)2Cl2]2+, for formation of intra-
molecular disulfide bonds in peptides. It rapidly and quantita-
tively converts the dicysteine peptide precursor, even at milli-
molar concentrations, to its disulfide form in slightly acidic and
neutral media. As compared to [Pt(CN)4Cl2]2-, [Pt(en)2Cl2]2+
is a somewhat weaker oxidizing agent. No side reactions were
observed with [Pt(en)2Cl2]2+, including no oxidation of the
methionine side chain. [Pt(CN)4Cl2]2- is a sufficiently strong
oxidizing agent that it can rapidly oxidize dicysteine peptides
at pH 1-3. Similar rates can be achieved with [Pt(en)2Cl2]2+
by running the reaction at pH 4-7, where a larger fraction of
the thiol groups are in the thiolate form. The Pt(IV) complex is
also highly efficient for the oxidation of penicillamine-derived
dithiol peptides. Moreover, [Pt(en)2Cl2]2+ and its reduction
product [Pt(en)2]2+ are essentially substitution inert under the
conditions used for disulfide bond formation, nontoxic, and
readily separable from peptides by HPLC. Thus, [Pt(en)2Cl2]2+
should be widely useful for the rapid and quantitative formation
of intramolecular disulfide bonds in synthetic peptides.
(23) Shi, T.; Berglund, J.; Elding, L. I. Inorg. Chem. 1996, 35, 3498-
3503.
(24) Lemma, K.; Shi, T.; Elding, L. I. Inorg. Chem. 2000, 39, 1728-
1734.
(25) Shi, T.; Elding, L. I. Inorg. Chim. Acta 1998, 282, 55-60.
(26) Wilmarth, W. K.; Fanchiang, Y.-T.; Byrd, J. E. Coord. Chem. ReV.
1983, 51, 141-153.
(27) Noszal, B.; Guo, W.; Rabenstein, D. L. J. Org. Chem. 1992, 57,
2327-2334.
(28) Creighton, T. E. Proteins: Structures and Molecular Properties,
2nd ed.; W. H. Freeman and Company: New York, 1993; Chapter 5.
(29) Rabenstein, D. L.; Yeo, P. L. J. Org. Chem. 1994, 59, 4223-4229.
(30) Rabenstein, D. L.; Weaver, K. H. J. Org. Chem. 1996, 61, 7391-
7397.
Experimental Section
Materials. [Pt(en)2]Cl2 and dithiothreitol (DTT) were obtained from
Aldrich. Phosphoric acid, sodium dihydrogen phosphate, sodium
monohydrogen phosphate, trifluoroacetic acid (TFA), and HPLC-grade
acetonitrile were purchased from Fisher Scientific Co. [Pt(en)2Cl2]Cl2
was prepared from [Pt(en)2]Cl2 according to a literature method;31,32
the UV-visible spectrum was in good agreement with that reported.
(31) Basolo, F.; Bailar, J. C.; Tarr, B. P. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1950, 72,
2433-2438.
(32) Poe¨, A. J. J. Chem. Soc. 1963, 183-188.