The Peptide Synthesis Facility provides high-quality peptide-based materials for researchers, partner facilities, and commercial partners with a primary goal to support cancer research projects across NSW. It provides a complete workflow for the synthesis of peptides, modification of peptides, and purification of peptides to give researchers the best possible material for their investigations.

Techniques/Technologies/Services

Peptide Synthesis Medium Scale and Large Scale

Peptides can be synthesised on the scale of 0.1 – 0.5 mmol using the facilities Syro II peptide synthesisers. In syringe mode up, to 48 peptides can be synthesised in tandem and even larger quantities can be accessed by pooling multiple peptide products before purification. Perfect for researchers who need a small number of peptides in moderate to large quantities.

Peptide Synthesis Small Scale

Peptides can be synthesized on the scale of 1-5 μmol on the facilities Syro II peptide synthesisers using the tip module. In tip mode up, to 576 peptides can be synthesized in tandem. This is ideal for researchers looking for larger numbers of peptides in small quantities, particularly useful for screening and exploratory assays.

Microwave-Assisted Peptide Synthesis

Peptides can be synthesized individually on the scale of 5 umol – 2 mmol using the Biotage Initiator/Alstra peptide synthesiser. This instrument can handle difficult sequences using its microwave reactor and is used for the synthesis of individual peptide sequences. This piece of equipment is also used to train new users and students in peptide chemistry and accessible as a bookable resource.

Purification

The purity of peptide required is highly dependent on the application. The facility offers services to help researchers decide on the purity they require. If crude product is sufficient then no purification services will be needed. In some cases, solid phase extraction will be sufficient purification. This is suggested for applications such as screening assays.

If high purity is required, we offer HPLC purification on the Shimadzu LCMS-2020 and Flash purification on the Biotage Isolera/Dalton. These instruments utilize mass directed fractionation to ensure only the relevant peptide product is collected.

Modifications to the purification process are available upon request.

The facility also offers purification and analysis services for the researcher’s peptide, dye, or small molecule samples.

Modified Residues

Modified residues such as unnatural amino acids can be incorporated into a synthesis. If we do not have a residue in the lab we will order it in on request. Common modifications include Biotin, Fluorescein, Phospho-tyrosine, Phospho-serine, SIL Arginine (13C6,99%; 15N4,99%), and SIL Lysine (13C6,99%; 15N2,99%). Standard N-terminal chemistry is either free amine or acetylation, and standard C-terminal chemistry is either free acid or amidation.

The facility offers consultation services when designing your peptide products to ensure you get the material that is appropriate for your application.