Synthesis of ketomethylene amino pseudopeptide analogues via reductive amination of glyoxals derived from α-amino acids

The reductive amination of an amino acid derived glyoxal, with the free amino group of a protected amino acid or oligopeptide fragment, has been developed as a simple and efficient method for the preparation of ketomethylene amino pseudo-oligopeptide isosteres AaΨ(COCH2NH)Aa. Trichlorosilane–DMF is the reagent of choice for the reduction.