The Chemical Synthesis of Insulin: An Enduring Challenge

JA Karas; JD Wade; MA Hossain

Journal article

The Chemical Synthesis of Insulin: An Enduring Challenge

JA Karas, JD Wade, MA Hossain

Chemical Reviews | AMER CHEMICAL SOC | Published : 2021

DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemrev.0c01251

Abstract

The pancreatic peptide hormone insulin, first discovered exactly 100 years ago, is essential for glycemic control and is used as a therapeutic for the treatment of type 1 and, increasingly, type 2 diabetes. With a worsening global diabetes epidemic and its significant health budget imposition, there is a great demand for new analogues possessing improved physical and functional properties. However, the chemical synthesis of insulin's intricate 51-amino acid, two-chain, three-disulfide bond structure, together with the poor physicochemical properties of both the individual chains and the hormone itself, has long represented a major challenge to organic chemists. This review provides a timely ..

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University of Melbourne Researchers

John Karas Author

Akhter Hossain Author

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Grants

Awarded by State Government of Victoria

Funding Acknowledgements

Part of the reported studies undertaken in the authors' laboratories were funded by the National Health and Research Council of Australia through Project Grants APP1023321 and 1023078 to M.A.H. and J.D.W. and C.S.I.R.O. (Australia) together with a Principal Research Fellowship to J.D.W. (APP628404 and 1117483). Research at The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health is supported by the Victorian Government Operational Infrastructure Support Program.