Journal of the American Chemical Society 2008-10-15

Tetrazine ligation: fast bioconjugation based on inverse-electron-demand Diels-Alder reactivity.

Melissa L Blackman, Maksim Royzen, Joseph M Fox

Index: J. Am. Chem. Soc. 130 , 13518-13519, (2008)

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Abstract

Described is a bioorthogonal reaction that proceeds with unusually fast reaction rates without need for catalysis: the cycloaddition of s-tetrazine and trans-cyclooctene derivatives. The reactions tolerate a broad range of functionality and proceed in high yield in organic solvents, water, cell media, or cell lysate. The rate of the ligation between trans-cyclooctene and 3,6-di-(2-pyridyl)-s-tetrazine is very rapid (k2 2000 M-1 s-1). This fast reactivity enables protein modification at low concentration.