Peptides have emerged as a therapeutically and commercially important class of drugs with the advantage of great specificity, potency and low toxicity profiles. They have become the drug of choice for the treatment of numerous diseases, such as diabetes, HIV, hepatitis and cancer with >150 peptides undergoing clinical trials. Peptides are furthermore invaluable research tools helping to dissect the physiological functions of many human receptors and elucidating the biological mechanisms underlying diseases.

Our lab is particularly interested in disulfide bond containing human neuropeptides that regulate a variety of important physiological functions including pain, appetite, social behaviour and inflammation. Taking advantage of the ancient and well-conserved character of these neuropeptides, we explore natural sources and innovative chemistry to develop advanced probes and therapeutic leads to study these signalling systems. Here we will present a variety of chemical strategies that allows us to tune potency, selectivity and stability of these intriguing class of molecules and discuss their potential therapeutic applications.