The Boc protecting group is a classical peptide synthesis protecting group. It was the first useful amine protecting group for solid-phase peptide synthesis (the Boc/Bn strategy). Boc amino acids are crystalline solids with excellent shelf life. They are commercially very available.
Installation
The most common electrophile for Boc installation is di-tert-butyl dicarbonate (Boc2O). [[Schotten-Baumann conditions]] are typically used for amino acids. For other substrates, polar aprotic solvents may be used, with or without base. The reaction is typically clean and high-yielding.
Unfortunately, Boc2O melts just above room temperature (23oC). Low-melting solids are most conveniently handled by gently melting in a warm water bath and using a syringe or pipette to dispense the liquid. An alternative to Boc2O is Boc-ON. Boc-ON melts at a higher temperature but should be stored at -20oC to avoid decomposition.
Stability
Boc is stable to most bases, nucleophiles, and reducing agents. It is considered very reliable. It is fully orthogonal to most other protecting groups and requires strong acids for removal. Boc is orthogonal to Fmoc/Fm, Alloc/allyl, Z/Bn (hydrogenolysis), Troc/TCE, and most others. Boc should survive careful trityl and Bpoc removal with dilute acid.
Removal
Boc is removed by moderately strong acid. Removal may be quite rapid. I like to use 4M HCl/Dioxane.
TFA is most common in the peptide realm. Typically, a scavenger is included (triisopropylsilane, anisole, thioanisole, phenol, various thiols) to prevent tert-butyl carbocation from reacting with nucleophilic functional groups in the peptide.
Hydrogen chloride is also quite common. Common solvents include dioxane and ethyl acetate. Sulfuric acid, phosphoric acid, methanesulfonic acid, and various Lewis acids have been used successfully.