An efficient route to VEGF-like peptide porphyrin conjugates via microwave-assisted ‘click-chemistry’

Synthetic cyclopeptides, and particularly those derived from VEGF sequence, present considerable interest for the development of nanodevices devoted to tumour imaging or targeting. In order to provide selective peptide-targeted tetrapyrrolic structures, we designed two meso-porphyrin derivatives anchored to a 17-residue-long cyclopeptide, potent antagonist of VEGF receptors, via a flexible tetraethylene glycol chain. Anchoring was achieved by two different strategies: a classical secondary amide bond formation and microwave-assisted Cu(I)-catalyzed azide-alkyne 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition (‘click-chemistry’). These compounds appear to be promising candidates for applications in PDT.