Piperidine

Definition

Piperidine is a heterocyclic organic compound consisting of a six-membered ring with five carbon atoms and one nitrogen atom. It is a common structural motif found in many natural and synthetic compounds, and its unique properties make it an important building block in organic chemistry, particularly in the context of naming amines, peptide synthesis, and automated peptide synthesis.

5 Must Know Facts For Your Next Test

1. Piperidine is a cyclic secondary amine, meaning it has a nitrogen atom within a six-membered ring and two alkyl substituents attached to the nitrogen.
2. In the context of naming amines (Chapter 24.1), piperidine is considered a cyclic amine and its IUPAC name is derived from the parent hydrocarbon, pentane, with the suffix '-idine' indicating the presence of a nitrogen atom in the ring.
3. Piperidine is a common structural motif found in many biologically active compounds, including various pharmaceuticals and natural products, making it an important consideration in peptide synthesis (Chapter 26.7).
4. The Merrifield Solid-Phase Method (Chapter 26.8) utilizes piperidine as a deprotection agent to remove the Fmoc (fluorenylmethyloxycarbonyl) protecting group during the automated synthesis of peptides, allowing for the stepwise addition of amino acids to the growing peptide chain.
5. Piperidine is a versatile building block in organic synthesis due to its stability, nucleophilicity, and ability to participate in a variety of reactions, including alkylation, acylation, and cyclization.

Review Questions

• Explain the role of piperidine in the naming of amines according to IUPAC rules.
  • Piperidine is a cyclic secondary amine, meaning it has a six-membered ring structure with a nitrogen atom and two alkyl substituents. When naming amines using IUPAC rules (Chapter 24.1), the presence of the piperidine moiety is indicated by the suffix '-idine' attached to the parent hydrocarbon name, in this case, pentane. This systematic naming convention helps to identify the cyclic nature and the position of the nitrogen atom within the molecule, which is an important consideration in organic chemistry.
• Describe the significance of piperidine in the context of peptide synthesis (Chapter 26.7).
  • Piperidine is a common structural motif found in many biologically active compounds, including various pharmaceuticals and natural products. Its presence in these molecules makes it an important consideration during peptide synthesis (Chapter 26.7), as the piperidine ring can be incorporated into the peptide sequence to introduce specific functional groups or to mimic the structure of naturally occurring peptides. The versatility of piperidine in organic synthesis allows for the creation of a wide range of peptide-based compounds with diverse biological activities.
• Analyze the role of piperidine in the Merrifield Solid-Phase Method of automated peptide synthesis (Chapter 26.8).
  • In the Merrifield Solid-Phase Method of automated peptide synthesis (Chapter 26.8), piperidine plays a crucial role as a deprotection agent. During the stepwise addition of amino acids to the growing peptide chain, the Fmoc (fluorenylmethyloxycarbonyl) protecting group is used to temporarily block the amino terminus of the amino acids. Piperidine is then used to selectively remove the Fmoc group, allowing for the next amino acid to be coupled to the peptide. This cyclic amine's ability to facilitate the deprotection step is essential for the successful implementation of the Merrifield Solid-Phase Method, enabling the automated synthesis of complex peptide sequences.

Related terms

Amine: A functional group consisting of a nitrogen atom connected to one or more alkyl or aryl groups. Amines can be classified based on the number of alkyl/aryl substituents, including primary, secondary, and tertiary amines.

Peptide: A short chain of amino acids linked together by peptide bonds. Peptides are the building blocks of proteins and play crucial roles in various biological processes.

Merrifield Solid-Phase Method: An automated technique for the synthesis of peptides, where the growing peptide chain is attached to an insoluble solid support, allowing for easier purification and manipulation during the synthesis process.