Sulphur plays an important role in many biological processes and therefore many pharmaceuticals contain this atom. Therefore, the development of methods for the synthesis of thiol-containing compounds/building blocks and the introduction of sulfur atom into peptide sequences is a useful approach towards the development of thiol-containing peptide-based drugs. To this end: (a) we developed easy and efficient methods for the synthesis of mercapto acids, aminothiols, thiol-containing amino acid derivatives and building blocks of interest, and (b) we developed various solid-phase synthesis methodologies (step-by-step and convergent synthesis methods), using trityl-type resins, for the introduction of the synthesized thiol-containing compounds into peptide chains, the replacement of the amide bond with the methylenethio isoster, the synthesis of thiol-containing peptoids, and the synthesis of 2-benzothiazolyl-containing compounds and peptides.

Spyridon Mourtas was born in 1976 in Athens. He received his PhD in Organic Chemistry from the University of Patras, Greece in 2008. He has gained extensive experience in chemical/pharmaceutical industry and as a postdoctoral researcher in several national/international projects. Currently, he is an Asst. Prof. at the University of Patras, Greece. His interests are focused on organic synthesis and organic synthesis methodologies (including solid-phase organic synthesis) of small molecules, peptides, modified peptides, bioconjugates, etc. with potential biological interest. A major part of his work is related to the chemistry of thiol-containing compounds and their further utilization in the development of pharmaceuticals and nano-based pharmaceuticals. So far, he has published more than 45 papers in reputed journals. H-index 25.