In this paper, we describe procedures that have been developed for the synthesis of peptides that are in use today and discuss how they are applied. We also refer throughout to a number of excellent articles and reviews that are available covering these methods from both a historical and technically detailed viewpoint. In addition, we discuss briefly some problems and methods encountered in the synthesis of peptides, such as racemization and purification. Since we view peptide synthesis from the practical perspective of obtaining the desired peptide, we have included procedures such as enzymatic synthesis and synthesis by recombinant DNA methods that have been developed only in recent years, and which are often ignored in narrower discussions.
