A novel biotinylated heterobifunctional cross-linking reagent bearing an aromatic diazirine

The synthesis of a p-[(3-trifluoromethyl)diazirine-3-yl]benzoic acid derivative is described as a new carbene generating heterobifunctional cross-linking reagent. The cross-linker carries a biotin moiety in order to make use of avidin-biotin technology for specific manipulation of cross-linked components. To evaluate the ability of this reagent, the inter-subunit cross-linking of egg-white avidin tetramer was investigated. As a typical application of avidin-biotin technology for cross-linking experiments, a chemiluminescent detection method was examined to identify photobiotinylated components. A cross-linked dimeric product with an apparent molecular mass of 38 kDa was clearly visualized by the combined use of a horseradish peroxidase-streptavidin conjugate and a luminol-based chemiluminescent system.