Affiliations 

  • 1 EaStCHEM School of Chemistry, University of Edinburgh, David Brewster Road, EH9 3FJ, Edinburgh, UK
  • 2 University of Edinburgh/BHF Centre for Cardiovascular Science, Queen's Medical Research Institute, 47 Little France Crescent, EH16 4TJ, Edinburgh, UK
  • 3 School of Chemical Sciences and Food Technology, Faculty of Science and Technology, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600, Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia
Angew Chem Int Ed Engl, 2016 12 12;55(50):15662-15666.
PMID: 27860120 DOI: 10.1002/anie.201609837

Abstract

The copper-catalyzed azide-alkyne cycloaddition (CuAAC) reaction has proven to be a pivotal advance in chemical ligation strategies with applications ranging from polymer fabrication to bioconjugation. However, application in vivo has been limited by the inherent toxicity of the copper catalyst. Herein, we report the application of heterogeneous copper catalysts in azide-alkyne cycloaddition processes in biological systems ranging from cells to zebrafish, with reactions spanning from fluorophore activation to the first reported in situ generation of a triazole-containing anticancer agent from two benign components, opening up many new avenues of exploration for CuAAC chemistry.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.