2.3 CuAAC in Protein Conjugation

This chapter summarizes the use of the copper-catalyzed azide–alkyne cycloaddition (CuAAC) reaction in the synthesis of peptide and protein conjugates. The different reaction conditions used for construction of the conjugates and their application in various disciplines are covered. Synthetic strategies for the introduction of the click groups (azide or alkyne) into the peptide backbones are included as well.

Exfoliated black phosphorous-mediated CuAAC chemistry for organic and macromolecular synthesis under white LED and near-IR irradiation

The development of long-wavelength photoinduced copper-catalyzed azide–alkyne click (CuAAC) reaction routes is attractive for organic and polymer chemistry. In this study, we present a novel synthetic methodology for the photoinduced CuAAC reaction utilizing exfoliated two-dimensional (2D) few-layer black phosphorus nanosheets (BPNs) as photocatalysts under white LED and near-IR (NIR) light irradiation. Upon irradiation, BPNs generated excited electrons and holes on its conduction (CB) and valence band (VB), respectively. The excited electrons thus formed were then transferred to the CuII ions to produce active CuI catalysts. The ability of BPNs to initiate the CuAAC reaction was investigated by studying the reaction between various low molar mass alkyne and azide derivatives under both white LED and NIR light irradiation. Due to its deeper penetration of NIR light, the possibility of synthesizing different macromolecular structures such as functional polymers, cross-linked networks and block copolymer has also been demonstrated. The structural and molecular properties of the intermediates and final products were evaluated by spectral and chromatographic analyses.

SPAAC-NAD-seq, a sensitive and accurate method to profile NAD+-capped transcripts

Nicotinamide adenine diphosphate (NAD+) is a novel messenger RNA 5′ cap in Escherichia coli, yeast, mammals, and Arabidopsis. Transcriptome-wide identification of NAD+-capped RNAs (NAD-RNAs) was accomplished through NAD captureSeq, which combines chemoenzymatic RNA enrichment with high-throughput sequencing. NAD-RNAs are enzymatically converted to alkyne-RNAs that are then biotinylated using a copper-catalyzed azide–alkyne cycloaddition (CuAAC) reaction. Originally applied to E. coli RNA, which lacks the m7G cap, NAD captureSeq was then applied to eukaryotes without extensive verification of its specificity for NAD-RNAs vs. m7G-capped RNAs (m7G-RNAs). In addition, the Cu2+ ion in the CuAAC reaction causes RNA fragmentation, leading to greatly reduced yield and loss of full-length sequence information. We developed an NAD-RNA capture scheme utilizing the copper-free, strain-promoted azide–alkyne cycloaddition reaction (SPAAC). We examined the specificity of CuAAC and SPAAC reactions toward NAD-RNAs and m7G-RNAs and found that both prefer the former, but also act on the latter. We demonstrated that SPAAC-NAD sequencing (SPAAC-NAD-seq), when combined with immunodepletion of m7G-RNAs, enables NAD-RNA identification with accuracy and sensitivity, leading to the discovery of new NAD-RNA profiles in Arabidopsis. Furthermore, SPAAC-NAD-seq retained full-length sequence information. Therefore, SPAAC-NAD-seq would enable specific and efficient discovery of NAD-RNAs in prokaryotes and, when combined with m7G-RNA depletion, in eukaryotes.

Synthesis of heteroleptic phosphine–copper(i) complexes: fluorescence sensing and catalytic properties

A series of heteroleptic Cu(i) complexes were precisely synthesized using different bipyridine and diphosphine ligands. These complexes exhibited fluorescence sensing towards silver ions and high catalytic activity towards the CuAAC reaction.