Abstract
The selective reduction of peptide-ester groups in aqueous solution with sodium borohydride was examined. For the sterically hindered esters, which resist to the reduction, in particular N-acetylglycyl-L-valine methyl ester and N-acetylglycyl-L-proline methyl ester, the reduction was examined in detail under various conditions. Consequently, these esters could be reduced almost quantitatively to the corresponding alcohols, indicating the potential utility in protein chemistry.
