as its urea byproduct can be removed by washing during aqueous work-up. Carbodiimide activation opens the possibility for racemization of the activated amino acid. Racemization can be circumvented with 'racemization suppressing' additives such as the triazoles 1-hydroxy-benzotriazole (HOBt), and 1-hydroxy-7-aza-benzotriazole (HOAt). These reagents attack the O-acylisourea intermediate to form an active ester, which subsequently reacts with the peptide to form the desired peptide bond. Ethyl cyanohydroxyiminoacetate (Oxyma), an additive for carbodiimide coupling, acts as an alternative to HOAt. Aminium/uronium and phosphonium salts Some coupling reagents omit the carbodiimide completely and incorporate the HOAt/HOBt moiety as an aminium/uronium or phosphonium salt of a non-nucleophilic anion (tetrafluoroborate or hexafluorophosphate). Examples of aminium/uronium reagents include HATU (HOAt), HBTU/TBTU (HOBt) and HCTU (6-ClHOBt). HBTU and TBTU differ only in the choice of anion. Phosphonium reagents include PyBOP (HOBt) and PyAOP (HOAt). These reagents form the same active ester species as the carbodiimide activation conditions, but differ in the rate of the initial activation step, which is determined by nature of the carbon skeleton of the coupling reagent. Furthermore, aminium/uronium reagents are capable of reacting with the peptide N-terminus to form an inactive guanidino by-product, whereas phosphonium reagents are not. Propanephosphonic acid anhydride Since late 2000s, propanephosphonic acid anhydride, sold commercially under various names such as "T3P", has become a useful reagent for amide bond formation in commercial applications. It converts the oxygen of the carboxylic acid into a leaving group, whose peptide-coupling byproducts are water-soluble and can be easily washed away. In a performance comparison between propanephosphonic acid anhydride and other peptide coupling reagents for the preparation of a nonapeptide drug, it was found that this reagent was superior to other reagents with regards to yield and low epimerization. Solid supports Solid supports for peptide synthesis are selected for physically stability, to permit the rapid filtration of liquids. Suitable supports are inert to reagents and solvents used during SPPS and allow for the attachment of the first amino acid. Swelling is of great importance because peptide synthesis takes place inside the swollen pores of the solid support. Three primary types of solid supports are: gel-type supports, surface-type supports, and composites. Improvements to solid supports used for peptide synthesis enhance their ability to withstand the repeated use of TFA during the deprotection step of SPPS. Two primary resins are used, based on whether a C-terminal carboxylic acid or amide is desired. The Wang resin was,