The 4-tert-butylphenyl group as a simple tag for solution phase synthesis

A solution phase synthesis strategy was investigated using 4-tert-butylphenyl group as the tag and a beta-cyclodextrin column as the affinity chromatographic support for the isolation of compounds containing the tag. It was found that compounds containing the tag have significantly longer retention times on the beta-cyclodextrin column than those compounds that do not have such a tag. The tag is chemically inert and can be introduced onto and removed from target compounds readily. This solution phase synthesis method was applied to the synthesis of some simple amino acid derivatives.