Palladium-mediated chemistry in living cells

Bioorthogonal metal catalysed chemistry is the application of biocompatible transition metals to catalyse conventional synthetic organic chemistry reactions within a biological environment. Over the past decade, metals which were previously restricted to conventional organic synthesis have begun to be used in an increasing number of biological settings. This has been dominated by copper mediated catalysis of the azide-alkyne Huisgen cycloaddition (1,3-dipolar addition) chemistry but other, less toxic, metals such as palladium are now beginning to establish themselves in the chemical biology/chemical medicine arenas. The potential of palladium mediated chemistry in living systems now ranges from protein modifications to in cellulo synthesis or activation of drugs and suggests that palladium chemistry has the potential to become a powerful tool. In this review we highlight recent advances in Pd-mediated reactions in living systems.