Kiinteäfaasitekniikkaa

Kiinteäfaasitekniikkaa, known in English as solid-phase techniques, refers to a collection of scientific methods where a chemical reaction or process is carried out on a solid support, rather than in a homogeneous solution. This approach offers several advantages, including simplified purification, the potential for automation, and often improved reaction yields and selectivity. The solid support is typically an insoluble polymer resin, onto which reactant molecules are covalently attached. After the reaction is complete, excess reagents and soluble byproducts can be easily washed away, leaving the modified solid support. The desired product can then be cleaved from the support or the support itself can be used directly in subsequent steps.

The most prominent application of kiinteäfaasitekniikkaa is in solid-phase peptide synthesis (SPPS), a revolutionary method developed by R. Bruce Merrifield. SPPS allows for the sequential addition of amino acids to a growing peptide chain anchored to a resin. This technique has greatly accelerated the production of peptides for research and therapeutic purposes. Beyond peptide synthesis, solid-phase techniques are widely employed in the synthesis of oligonucleotides (DNA and RNA), combinatorial chemistry for drug discovery, and various purification methods such as solid-phase extraction (SPE). The versatility of solid-phase techniques has made them indispensable tools in modern organic chemistry, biochemistry, and pharmaceuticals.