Abstract A highly fluorescent 1-pyrenylmethyloxycarbonyl amino acid (Pmoc-amino acid) is obtained in moderate yield by the reaction of (1-pyrenylmethyl)-4-nitrophenylcarbonate with an amino acid in the presence of sodium carbonate. The condensation of Pmoc-amino acid with an amino acid gives Pmoc-peptide in the presence of 1-ethyl-3-(3- dimethylaminepropyl) carbodiimide and 1-hydroxyben-zotriazole. The amino acid is ...