Preparation and Characterization of a Fibroin Peptides Derivative with an Allyl Group

Abstract

This paper introduces a new mixture of peptide derivatives, bearing allyl groups, temporarily named allyl fibroin peptide (AFP), fabricated via reaction of low-molecular-weight fibroin peptides (FP) with allyl chloride in a water/ethanol solvent system. The optimal parameters of the preparation were determined through orthogonal analysis experiments. The reaction mechanism was investigated, and the chemical structure of the product was also confirmed using FT-IR and ¹H-NMR analyses. The results indicated that a nucleophilic substitution reaction took place between FP and allyl chloride and the allyl group of the allyl chloride substituted one of the two hydrogen atoms on the amino of peptide molecule; the biggest yield of the product, 58.81 wt%, was obtained with 10 wt% FP, weight ratio of water to ethanol = 3:2 and the molar ratio of NaOH to FP = 1:1. The peptide derivative may be useful in exploiting new functional materials by connecting FP to macromolecules, and imparting new characteristics to the final materials through graft co-polymerization.

Keywords:

• FIBROIN PEPTIDE
• ALLYL CHLORIDE (3-CHLOROPROPENE)
• SYNTHESIS
• ORTHOGONAL ANALYSIS
• STRUCTURE