Peptide synthesis has emerged as one of the most powerful tools in biochemical, pharmacological, immunological, and biophysical la- ratories. Recent improvements include general solid-phase method- ogy, new protecting groups, and automated equipment. These advances have allowed the facile synthesis of increasingly more complex p- tides. Many of these new and improved methods for the synthesis of peptides and peptide-related substances have been reported in various publications, but never compiled in a convenient handbook. Like other volumes in this series, Peptide Synthesis Protocols concentrates on the practical aspects of these procedures, providing the researcher with detailed descriptions and helpful tips about potential problems. This volume is not intended to serve as a basic guide to standard Merrifie- type solid-phase strategy, but rather to provide the researcher with some of the most recent applications in the field of peptide science. A c- panion volume, Peptide Analysis Protocols, will detail methodology for the charaterization of new synthetic peptides. Development of new methods and applications has continued actively even as this volume was in preparation. Owing to the number of contributors to this volume, it was necessary to establish a cutoff for publication purposes. We feel that all of the protocols presented are timely and up-to-date. Several promising new strategies, such as allyloxycarbonyl-based syntheses, were being developed at the time this volume was in the editing stages and will be included in future editions.
