Diketopiperazines, which are cyclic dipeptides, are often formed by a side reaction of solid-phase peptide synthesis. Using the new "Backbone Amide Linker," this chemistry can be conveniently harnessed for the intentional preparation of diketopiperazines. These products will be useful scaffolds for combinatorial chemistry, since they incorporate three different points of diversity: both amino acid side-chains and one (of the two) amide bonds. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.