A description of the various approaches to the synthesis of the insensitive energetic compound, 2,6-dia-mino-3,5-dinitropyrazine-1-oxide (LLM-105), developed at LLNL over the past 20 years will be described.

Bruce Merrifield's scientific biography, 'Life During a Golden Age of Peptide Chemistry: The Concept and Development of Solid-Phase Peptide Synthesis', provides a history of solid phase-peptide synthesis (SPPS) from 1959 to 1993 [1]. While many readers will be familiar with SPPS literature after 1963, the inclusion of unpublished material from Merrifield's early laboratory notebooks opens a fascinating window on the development of SPPS from the formulation of concept in 1959 (p. 56, ref. 1) to the synthesis of a tetrapeptide four years later [2]. This early period was characterized by slow progress interrupted by numerous setbacks that led Bruce to later record (p. 90, ref. 1): 'At the end of the first two years the results were so poor, I wonder what made me think that this approach would ever succeed; but from the outset I had a strong conviction that this was a good idea, and I am glad that I stayed with it long enough'. Garland Marshall, Bruce's first graduate student (1963-1966), as well as later colleagues, were essentially unaware of the many highways, byways and dead ends that Bruce had explored in the early years [3].

The electron affinities (EAs) of a training set of 19 metal-salen compounds were calculated using density functional theory. Concurrently, the experimental reduction potentials for the training set were measured using cyclic voltammetry. The EAs and reduction potentials were found to be linearly correlated by metal. The reduction potentials of a test set of 14 different metal-salens were then measured and compared to the predicted reduction potentials based upon the training set correlation. The method was found to work well, with a mean unsigned error of 99 mV for the entire test set. This method could be used to predict the reduction potentials of a variety of metal-salen compounds, an important class of coordination compounds used in synthetic organic electrochemistry as electrocatalysts.

Ionic liquids have previously been shown to dissolve strong inter- and intramolecular hydrogen-bonded solids, including natural fibers. Much of this solubility is attributed to the anions in ionic liquids, which can disrupt hydrogen bonding. We have studied the solubility and recrystallization of 1,3,5-triamino-2,4,6-trinitrobenzene (TATB), a very strong inter- and intramolecular hydrogen-bonded solid, in various ionic liquid solvent systems. We discovered that acetate-based ionic liquids were the best solvents for dissolving TATB, while other anions, such as Cl−, HSO4− and NO3− showed moderate improvements in the solubility compared to conventional organic solvents. Ionic liquid–DMSO co-solvent systems were also investigated for dissolving and recrystallizing TATB.

By the early 1970s it had became apparent that the solid‐phase synthesis of ribonuclease A could not be generalized. Consequently, virtually every aspect of solid‐phase peptide synthesis (SPPS) was reexamined and improved during the decade of the 1970s. The sensitive detection and elimination of possible side reactions (amino acid insertion, Nα‐trifluoroacetylation, Nαϵ‐alkylation) were examined. The quantitation of coupling efficiency in SPPS as a function of chain length was studied. A new and improved support for SPPS, the “PAM‐resin,” was prepared and evaluated. These and many other studies from the Merrifield laboratory and elsewhere increased the general acceptance of SPPS leading to the 1984 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for Bruce Merrifield. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Biopolymers (Pept Sci) 90:215–233, 2008.

Bruce Merrifield, trained as a biochemist, had to address three major challenges related to the development and acceptance of solid-phase peptide synthesis (SPPS). The challenges were (1) to reduce the concept of peptide synthesis on a insoluble support to practice, (2) overcome the resistance of synthetic chemists to this novel approach, and (3) establish that a biochemist had the scientific credentials to effect the proposed revolutionary change in chemical synthesis. How these challenges were met is discussed in this article.

Two newly synthesized versions of the insensitive high explosive (IHE) 1,3,5-triamino-2,4,6-trinitrobenzene (TATB) were compared to two legacy explosives currently used by the Department of Energy. Except for thermal analysis, small-scale safety tests could not distinguish between the different synthetic routes. Morphologies of new TATBs were less faceted and more spherical. The particle size distribution of one new material was similar to legacy TATBs, but the other was very fine. Densities and submicron structure of the new TATBs were also significantly different from the legacy explosives and the densities of pressed pellets were lower. Recrystallization of both new TATBs from sulfolane produced nearly hexagonal platelets with improved density and thermal stability.

Since Merrifield introduced the concept of solid phase synthesis in 1963 for the rapid preparation of peptides, a large variety of different supports and resin-linkers have been developed that improve the efficiency of peptide assembly and expand the myriad of synthetically feasible peptides. The aryl hydrazide is one of the most useful resin-linkers for the synthesis of chemically modified peptides. This linker is completely stable during Boc- and Fmoc-based solid phase synthesis and yet it can be cleaved under very mild oxidative conditions. The present article reviews the use of this valuable linker for the rapid and efficient synthesis of C-terminal modified peptides, head-to-tail cyclic peptides and lipidated peptides.

A safe and versatile synthesis of high-purity 1,3,5-triamino-2,4,6-trinitrobenzene (TATB) based on vicarious nucleophilic substitution (VNS) chemistry has now been achieved. The starting material can be selected from a variety of inexpensive nitroarenes obtained from commercial suppliers (4-nitroaniline, picric acid) or U.S. stockpiles (ammonium picrate, TNT). The use of picric acid and ammonium picrate (Explosive D) is preferred as both compounds are directly converted to picramide in the presence of ammonium salts (diammonium hydrogen phosphate, ammonium carbamate) in sulfolane at elevated temperature. The picramide resulting from this process is directly converted to TATB using an optimized VNS reaction employing inexpensive hydroxylamine as the nucleophilic aminating reagent. A crucial element in our synthesis is a novel and efficient purification of TATB.

The global demilitarization of nuclear and conventional munitions is producing millions of pounds of surplus energetic materials. Historically, energetic materials (high explosives, propellants, and pyrotechnics) have been disposed of by open burning/open detonation (OB/OD). The use of OB/OD is becoming unacceptable due to public concerns and increasingly stringent environmental regulations. Clearly, there is a great need to develop environmentally sound and cost-effective alternatives to OB/OD. The conversion of surplus picric acid and/or ammonium picrate (Explosive D) to 1,3,5-triamino-2,4,6-trinitrobenzene (TATB) has been subject of extensive process development studies at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL). LLNL, under the direction and sponsorship of the U.S. Army Defense Ammunition Center (DAC), is developing a process for the conversion of picric acid to TATB on a pilot scale.