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Updated: May 29, 2026

Design, Synthesis, and Photochemical Properties of Clickable Caged Compounds
Published on: October 15, 2019
RETRACTED: Unclicking the click: mechanically facilitated 1,3-dipolar cycloreversions
Johnathan N Brantley1, Kelly M Wiggins, Christopher W Bielawski
1Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, The University of Texas at Austin, 1 University Station A1590, Austin, TX 78712, USA.
Abstract:
The specific targeting of covalent bonds in a local, anisotropic fashion using mechanical methods offers useful opportunities to direct chemical reactivity down otherwise prohibitive pathways. Here, we report that embedding the highly inert 1,2,3-triazole moiety (which is often prepared using the canonical "click" coupling of azides and alkynes) within a poly(methyl acrylate) chain renders it susceptible to ultrasound-induced cycloreversion, as confirmed by comprehensive spectroscopic and chemical analyses. Such reactivity offers the opportunity to develop triazoles as mechanically labile protecting groups or for use in readily accessible materials that respond to mechanical force.
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