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Solutions For An Introduction to Medicinal Chemistry Chapter 9 Problem 1Q

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Solution 1

Puromycin is classified as an antibiotic, which is also known as the protein synthesis inhibitor. It inhibits the translation and causes the premature chain termination in the ribosome. It is also known as the aminonucleoside antibiotic and is derived from the bacterium Streptomyces alboniger. It is frequently used as a selective agent in the cell biology cell culture systems.

The mechanism of translation inhibition starts at a portion of the puromycin, which share resemblance with the aminoacylated tRNA’s (transfer ribonucleic acid) end. It enters through the A-site of the tRNA and gets transferred to the growing polypeptide chain. This results in the formation of the puromycylated nascent polypeptide chain and the premature chain release takes place.

The exact mechanism is still unknown, but the end consists of an amide linkage at the place of normal ester linkage of the tRNA. The presence of the amide bond makes the puromycin resistant to the hydrolysis and causes the inhibition of the ribosomal machinery. Puromycin also serves as the reversible inhibitor of peptidases.

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Solutions For Problems in Chapter 9