Peptide synthesis is the process of chemically assembling amino acids in a specific sequence to create a desired peptide. The two primary methods are Solid-Phase Peptide Synthesis (SPPS) and Solution-Phase Synthesis, with SPPS being the dominant method for research-grade peptides.
In SPPS, the first amino acid is anchored to an insoluble resin bead. Subsequent amino acids are added one at a time in a stepwise fashion, with each addition cycle involving deprotection, coupling, and washing steps. This approach allows for high efficiency and the ability to synthesize peptides of up to ~50 residues.
After the full sequence is assembled, the peptide is cleaved from the resin and undergoes purification — typically via HPLC — to remove truncated sequences, deletion peptides, and other synthesis byproducts.
Modern synthesis facilities use automated peptide synthesizers that can produce milligram to gram quantities of high-purity peptides with remarkable precision and reproducibility, enabling consistent supply for ongoing research programs.