Electrochemical modifications of proteins. 1. Glycitolation

When an electrochemical method is tentatively applied for N-alkylation of proteins, some Maillard reactions occur on the counter electrode. A low level of reductive N-alkylation of casein was obtained on a cathodic electrode, but the method unfortunately remains poorly efficacious in comparison with those using a hydride donor such as sodium cyanoborohydride. Electroassisted reductive N-alkylation is suitable only for basic proteins such as histones or lysozyme. For other proteins, an alternative consists of either methylating carboxylic residues to increase the value of their isoelectric pH or coating them with a cationic detergent.