Some useful drugs consist of peptides acting on their protein targets. To make them more efficient and stable, scientists have found a way to replace crucial segments of the peptides with ureido units. These oligoureas, which are composed of urea-based units, fold into a structure similar to that of peptides. Oligourea-based “fake” peptides enhance the options for rational drug design, concludes the study published in the journal Angewandte Chemie.
Several drugs are peptides that inhibit or activate the actions of certain proteins. To enhance their efficiency, scientists are investigating peptide mimics. Peptide mimics contain strands of small organic units that resemble amino acids — the building blocks of peptides — but are not identical to them. The rationale is that proteolytic enzymes will less likely attack such fake peptide strands, so the drugs would be more…
