Development of the efficient preparation method for thermoresponsive elastin‐like peptides using liquid‐phase synthesis combined with fragment condensation strategy

Abstract

Elastin‐like peptides (ELPs) are synthetic peptides that mimic the characteristic hydrophobic amino acid repeat sequences of elastin and exhibit temperature‐dependent reversible self‐assembly properties. ELPs are expected to be used as temperature‐responsive biomolecular materials across diverse industrial and research fields, and there is a requirement for a straightforward method to mass‐produce them. Previously, we demonstrated that phenylalanine‐containing ELP analogs, namely, (FPGVG)n, can undergo coacervation with short chains (n = 5). The Fmoc solid‐phase peptide synthesis method is one strategy used to synthesize these short ELPs. However, owing to its low reaction efficiency, an efficient method for preparing ELPs is required. In this study, efficient preparation of ELPs was investigated using a liquid‐phase synthesis method with a hydrophobic benzyl alcohol support (HBA‐tag). Because HBA‐tags are highly hydrophobic, they can be easily precipitated by the addition of poor solvents and recovered by filtration. This property allows the method to combine the advantages of the simplicity of solid‐phase methods and the high reaction efficiency of liquid‐phase methods. By utilizing liquid‐phase fragment condensation with HBA‐tags, short ELPs were successfully obtained in high yield and purity. Finally, the temperature‐dependent response of the ELPs generated through fragment condensation was assessed using turbidity measurements, which revealed a reversible phase transition. Consequently, the ELPs exhibited a reversible phase transition, indicating successful synthesis of ELPs via fragment preparation with tags. These findings provide evidence of the potential for mass production of ELPs using this approach.