O.B. thanks the European Commission (Marie Curie CIG) and Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovacion, Spain (Juan de la Cierva Fellowship). G.J.L.B. thanks his generous sources of funding: Royal Society, FCT Portugal (FCT Investigator), European Commission (Marie Curie CIG), and the EPSRC. G.J.L.B. is a Royal Society University Research Fellow. The authors thank Paula Boutureira Regla and Francisco Pinteus da Cruz Lopes Bernardes for inspiration.

Advances in Chemical Protein Modification

The emerging inverse electron demand Diels–Alder (IEDDA) reaction stands out from other bioorthogonal reactions by virtue of its unmatchable kinetics, excellent orthogonality and biocompatibility. With the recent discovery of novel dienophiles and optimal tetrazine coupling partners, attention has now been turned to the use of IEDDA approaches in basic biology, imaging and therapeutics. Here we review this bioorthogonal reaction and its promising applications for live cell and animal studies. We first discuss the key factors that contribute to the fast IEDDA kinetics and describe the most recent advances in the synthesis of tetrazine and dienophile coupling partners. Both coupling partners have been incorporated into proteins for tracking and imaging by use of fluorogenic tetrazines that become strongly fluorescent upon reaction. Selected notable examples of such applications are presented. The exceptional fast kinetics of this catalyst-free reaction, even using low concentrations of coupling partners, make it amenable for in vivo radiolabelling using pretargeting methodologies, which are also discussed. Finally, IEDDA reactions have recently found use in bioorthogonal decaging to activate proteins or drugs in gain-of-function strategies. We conclude by showing applications of the IEDDA reaction in the construction of biomaterials that are used for drug delivery and multimodal imaging, among others. The use and utility of the IEDDA reaction is interdisciplinary and promises to revolutionize chemical biology, radiochemistry and materials science.

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Inverse electron demand Diels–Alder reactions in chemical biology

Click Chemistry in Complex Mixtures: Bioorthogonal Bioconjugation

Peroxynitrite is a short-lived and reactive biological oxidant formed from the diffusion-controlled reaction of the free radicals superoxide (O2•–) and nitric oxide (•NO) In this review, we first analyze the biochemical evidence for the formation of peroxynitrite in vivo and the reactions that lead to it Then, we describe the principal reactions that peroxynitrite undergoes with biological targets and provide kinetic and mechanistic details In these reactions, peroxynitrite has roles as (1) peroxide, (2) Lewis base, and (3) free radical generator Physiological levels of CO2 can change the outcome of peroxynitrite reactions The second part of the review assesses the formation of protein 3-nitrotyrosine (NO2Tyr) by peroxynitrite-dependent and -independent mechanisms, as one of the hallmarks of the actions of •NO-derived oxidants in biological systems Moreover, tyrosine nitration impacts protein structure and function, tyrosine kinase signal transduction cascades and protein turnover Overall, the revi

Biochemistry of Peroxynitrite and Protein Tyrosine Nitration.

Numerous light-based diagnostic and therapeutic devices are routinely used in the clinic. These devices have a familiar look as items plugged in the wall or placed at patients' bedsides, but recently, many new ideas have been proposed for the realization of implantable or wearable functional devices. Many advances are being fuelled by the development of multifunctional materials for photonic healthcare devices. However, the finite depth of light penetration in the body is still a serious constraint for their clinical applications. In this Review, we discuss the basic concepts and some examples of state-of-the-art implantable and wearable photonic healthcare devices for diagnostic and therapeutic applications. First, we describe emerging multifunctional materials critical to the advent of next-generation implantable and wearable photonic healthcare devices and discuss the path for their clinical translation. Then, we examine implantable photonic healthcare devices in terms of their properties and diagnostic and therapeutic functions. We next describe exemplary cases of noninvasive, wearable photonic healthcare devices across different anatomical applications. Finally, we discuss the future research directions for the field, in particular regarding mobile healthcare and personalized medicine.

Multifunctional materials for implantable and wearable photonic healthcare devices.

Haptens, such as dinitrophenyl (DNP) are small molecules that induce strong immune responses when attached to proteins or peptides and, as such, have been exploited for diverse applications. We engineered a Methanosarcina barkeri pyrrolysyl-tRNA synthetase (mbPylRS) to genetically encode a DNP-containing unnatural amino acid, N(6) -(2-(2,4-dinitrophenyl)acetyl)lysine (DnpK). Although this moiety was unstable in Escherichia coli, we found that its stability was enhanced in mammalian HEK 293T cells and was able to induce selective interactions with anti-DNP antibodies. The capability of genetically introducing DNP into proteins is expected to find broad applications in biosensing, immunology, and therapeutics.

Expanding the Genetic Code for a Dinitrophenyl Hapten.

A highly efficient oxidative condensation reaction for selective protein conjugation

Mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) is a frequently used indicator for mitochondrial function Herein, we report a photostable near-infrared (NIR) fluorescent dye for monitoring MMP This new probe, named NIMAP, is non-fluorescent in aqueous solution and can be activated by cell membranes, providing high fluorescence contrast and low background fluorescence NIMAP has been validated for monitoring MMP in living mammalian cells and in mice Due to the large fluorescence response, low fluorescence background, high photostability, and excellent tissue penetration resulting from red-shifted excitation and emission in the "optical window" above 600 nm, broad applications of this new probe are expected

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Ao Ji

Papers

Expanding the Genetic Code for a Dinitrophenyl Hapten.

A highly efficient oxidative condensation reaction for selective protein conjugation

A membrane-activatable near-infrared fluorescent probe with ultra-photostability for mitochondrial membrane potentials