Synthesis of the Tripeptide L-Trp-L-Ser-L-Glu : Comparison of its Biological Activity with That of the Delta-Sleep-Inducing-Peptide (DSIP)

The present work was done, as concerns the chemical-synthetical part, at the Institute for Organic Chemistry of the University Basel under the supervision of Prof.

Dr. M. Brenner, as concerns the biological part, at the Laboratory for Sleep Research of the Physiological Institute of the University under the supervision of Prof.

Dr. M. Monnier. I should like to express my gratitude to PD Dr. G.A. Schoenenberger who suggested the subject of this thesis and provided precious advice for its realization.

I am very much indebted to Prof. Dr. M. Brenner who directed the synthetic work of the tripeptide.

I am also grateful to my father Prof. Dr. M. Monnier and his coworkers L. Dudler and R. Gachter who tested the activity of the synthetical tripeptide.

I also thank M. Grogg, Bachem, Liestal, for his help as concerns hydrogenoly- sis reactions and E. von Arx for amino acid analysis at the Chromatogra- phie-Labor, Pharma-Forschung, CIBA-GEIGY AG, Basel. 7 Abbreviations The abbreviations for amino acid derivatives, protecting groups and further helper groups are employed according to the recommendations of the IUPAC-IUB Commis- sion on Biochemical Nomenclature which are reported in Biochem. J. 126, 773-780 (1972). Amino acids without symbol for the direction of rotation have the L-configu- ration.