Microwave-assisted peptide synthesis

A process for accelerating the solid phase synthesis of peptides, and comprising:

• deprotecting the alpha-amino group of a first amino acid protected with a composition selected from the group consisting of Na-9-fluorenylmethyloxycarbonyl (Fmoc) and Na-t-butoxycarbonyl (Boc) and linked to solid phase resin particles by admixing the protected linked acid with a deprotecting solution in a microwave transparent vessel while irradiating the admixed acid and solution with microwaves;
• activating a second amino acid;
• coupling the second amino acid to the first acid while irradiating the composition in the same vessel with microwaves;
• agitating the amino acids and peptide with an inert gas;
• and
• successively deprotecting, and coupling a plurality of amino acids into a peptide in the same microwave transparent vessel without removing the peptide from the same vessel between cycles.

An instrument for microwave-assisted solid phase peptide synthesis comprising:

• a source of microwave radiation;
• a cavity that supports a single mode at frequencies produced by said source;
• a microwave transparent reaction vessel in said cavity
• a source of inert gas for agitating compositions in said vessel in said cavity;
• a plurality of amino acid containers;
• and
• a processor that controls the addition of amino acids to said vessel at appropriate points in a solid phase peptide synthesis.