Click Triazoles for Bioconjugation

Click Chemistry is a set of rapid, selective and robust reactions that give near-quantitative yield of the desired product in aqueous solutions. The Cu(I)-catalyzed azide-alkyne cycloaddition (CuAAC) that forms 1,4-disubstituted triazoles is a prototypical example of click chemistry that features exquisite selectivity and bioorthogonality-that is, non-interacting with biological components while proceeding under physiological conditions. Over the past ten years, CuAAC has found extensive applications in the field of chemical biology. In this chapter, we describe the discovery of Cu(I) catalysts for this transformation and the recent development of the strain-promoted azide-alkyne cycloaddition that eliminate the use of copper. We also highlight several recent applications toward conjugating biomolecules, including proteins, nucleic acids, lipids and glycans, with biophysical probes for both in vitro and in vivo studies.