Orthogonal Inverse-Electron-Demand Cycloaddition Reactions Controlled by Frontier Molecular Orbital Interactions.

Chemoselective pairs of bioorthogonal reactants enable the simultaneous labeling of several biomolecules. Here, we access orthogonal click reactions by exploiting differences in frontier molecular orbital interaction energies in transition states. We establish that five-membered cyclic dienes are inert to isonitriles but readily react with strained alkynes, while tetrazines with bulky substituents readily react with isonitriles. Strained alkynes show an opposite reactivity pattern. The approach was demonstrated by orthogonally labeling two proteins with different fluorophores.

Mechanisms and Substituent Effects of Metal-Free Bioorthogonal Reactions.

Reactions that occur under physiological conditions find diverse uses in the chemical and biological sciences. However, the limitations that biological systems place on chemical reactions restrict the number of such bioorthogonal reactions. A profound understanding of the mechanistic principles and structure-reactivity trends of these transformations is therefore critical to access new and improved versions of bioorthogonal chemistry. The present article reviews the mechanisms and substituent effects of some of the principal metal-free bioorthogonal reactions based on inverse-electron demand Diels-Alder reactions, 1,3-dipolar cycloadditions, and the Staudinger reaction. Mechanisms of modified versions that link these reactions to a dissociative step are further discussed. The presented summary is anticipated to aid the advancement of bioorthogonal chemistry.

Tuning Isonitrile/Tetrazine Chemistry for Accelerated Deprotection and Formation of Stable Conjugates.

The isocyano group is a valuable functionality for bioorthogonal reactions because it rapidly reacts with tetrazines to either form stable conjugates or release payloads from 3-isocyanopropyl groups. Here we provide mechanistic insights into the dissociative steps that follow the initial cycloaddition and analyze how structural modifications affect these processes. Three main outcomes of this study have important implications for designing such groups for bioorthogonal applications. First, anion-stabilizing substituents at C-2 of the 3-isocyanopropyl group promote ß-elimination and accelerate deprotection. Second, tetrazines with bulky substituents form stable imine conjugates even with primary isonitriles that are otherwise rapidly hydrolyzed. Third, the elimination step is independent from hydrolysis to the aldehyde and instead can occur directly from the imine intermediate. These findings will allow tuning the structures of tetrazine and isonitrile reactants for application in bioorthogonal ligation and release chemistry.