Cyclic peptide

In nature they are frequently antimicrobial or toxic; in medicine they have various applications, for example as antibiotics and immunosuppressive agents.

[2] Thin-Layer Chromatography (TLC) is a convenient method to detect cyclic peptides in crude extract from bio-mass.

[6][7][8] Some peptides, such as cyclotides, are gene-coded products obtained by the processing of larger precursor proteins.

The generic configuration of the precursor protein consists of an endoplasmic reticulum signal sequence, a non-conserved pro-region, a highly conserved region known as the N-terminal repeat (NTR), the mature cyclotide domain and finally a short hydrophobic C-terminal tail.

[9][10] Cyclic peptides tend to be extremely resistant to the process of digestion, making them of interest to scientists working on novel oral medications.