Tailoring ultraresins based on the cross-linking of polyethylene imines. Comparative investigation of the chemical composition, the swelling, the mobility, the chemical accessibility, and the performance in solid-phase synthesis of very high loaded resins

Ultraresins have been prepared from polyethyleneimines and cross-linking molecules and have been provided with various degrees of cross-linking. The total nitrogen loading and the loading with secondary and with tertiary amines have been determined in all products. Nitrogen loadings of the novel resins were up to 15 mmol/g, reactive secondary amines up to 13.8 mmol/g. In addition to the exceptionally high loading, the novel resins displayed efficient swelling volumes in polar and nonpolar solvents. The mobility of resin-bound species as determined by EPR-spectroscopy, depending on the amount of cross-linker, indicated good flexibility and reactivity of this resin type. The novel, high-loaded resins have been investigated subsequently in solid-phase synthesis. The Rink amide linker and two different hydroxy linkers (hydroxyacetamide, HMPB) have been attached to the resin. Despite the high loadings, the secondary amines were easily accessible and could be functionalized exhaustively. Reactivity of the linker-coupled resins was found to be closely related to the resin composition. Increased resin cross-linking led to reduced swelling, reduced mobility, and reduced reactivity in the synthesis of a medium-sized model peptide. As the result of the systematic investigation of structure-property relations in Ultraresins, a support material was identified that combined high reactivity and a mobility in the range of the extremely flexible Tentagel supports. In the optimized Ultraresin, >95% of all available secondary nitrogens could be coupled with Rink linker or with the small 2-hydroxyacetamide anchor, resulting in loadings from 2.7 to 6.8 mmol/g, respectively. A resin with an attached HMPB linker and spacer delivered analytically pure peptides in solid-phase synthesis, fully exploiting the exceptionally high loadings.