A Bioorthogonal Quadricyclane Ligation

Abstract

New additions to the bioorthogonal chemistry compendium can advance biological research by enabling multiplexed analysis of biomolecules in complex systems. Here we introduce the quadricyclane ligation, a new bioorthogonal reaction between the highly strained hydrocarbon quadricyclane and Ni bis(dithiolene) reagents. This reaction has a second-order rate constant of 0.25 M^–1 s^–1, on par with fast bioorthogonal reactions of azides, and proceeds readily in aqueous environments. Ni bis(dithiolene) probes selectively labeled quadricyclane-modified bovine serum albumin, even in the presence of cell lysate. We have demonstrated that the quadricyclane ligation is compatible with, and orthogonal to, strain-promoted azide–alkyne cycloaddition and oxime ligation chemistries by performing all three reactions in one pot on differentially functionalized protein substrates. The quadricyclane ligation joins a small but growing list of tools for the selective covalent modification of biomolecules