An optimized method for the synthesis of amino-functionalized phosphatidylcholine

Phosphatidylcholine analogues were synthesised as affinity ligands for the capture of membrane proteins. Several protecting group strategies were investigated to synthesize the amino-functionalized phosphatidylcholine: 11-aminoundecyl 2-(trimethylammonio)ethyl phosphate (4). The acid-mediated deprotection of the Boc group generated a mixture of the target products which could only be purified by HPLC. However, an alternative strategy, using the hydrazine-labile phthalimide group route, followed by a gel filtration step proved straightforward to afford the desired amino-functionalized phosphatidylcholine product in high yield and purity.