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A kinetic analysis of a “declick” reaction is described. Compound 1 , previously reported to couple an amine and a thiol ( i.e. “click”) under mild aqueous conditions to create 2 , undergoes release of the unaltered coupling partners upon triggering with dithiothreitol ( DTT ). In the study reported herein various aniline derivatives possessing para-electron donating and withdrawing groups were used as the amines. UV/vis spectroscopy of the declick reaction shows time-dependent spectra lacking isosbestic points, implying a multi-step mechanism. Global data fitting using numerical integration of rate equations and singular value decomposition afforded the spectra and time-dependence of each species, as well as rate constants for each step. The kinetic analysis reveals a multi-step process with an intermediate where both thiols of DTT have added prior to expulsion of the aniline leaving group, followed by rearrangement to the final product. Hammett plots show a negative rho value on two of the steps, indicating positive charge building ( i.e. reduction of a negative charge) in the step leading to the intermediate and its rate-determining breakdown. Overall, the kinetic study reported herein gives a complete mechanistic picture of the declick reaction.
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A programmable chemical switch based on triggerable Michael acceptors
Developing an engineerable chemical reaction that is triggerable for simultaneous chemical bond formation and cleavage by external cues offers tunability and orthogonality which is highly desired in many biological and materials applications. Here, we present a chemical switch that concurrently captures these features in response to chemically and biologically abundant and important cues, viz. , thiols and amines. This thiol/amine-triggerable chemical switch is based on a Triggerable Michael Acceptor (TMAc) which bears good leaving groups at its β-position. The acceptor undergoes a “trigger-to-release” process where thiol/amine addition triggers cascaded release of leaving groups and generates a less activated acceptor. The newly generated TMAc can be further reversed to liberate the original thiol/amine by a second nucleophile trigger through a “trigger-to-reverse” process. Within the small molecular volume of the switch, we have shown five locations that can be engineered to achieve tunable “trigger-to-release” kinetics and tailored reversibility. The potential of the engineerable bonding/debonding capability of the chemical switch is demonstrated by applications in cysteine-selective and reversible protein modification, universal self-immolative linkers, and orthogonally addressable hydrogels.
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- Award ID(s):
- 1740597
- PAR ID:
- 10204859
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Chemical Science
- Volume:
- 11
- Issue:
- 8
- ISSN:
- 2041-6520
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 2103 to 2111
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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- Free Publicly Accessible Full Text
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Accepted Manuscript1.0
- Journal Article:
- https://doi.org/10.1039/C9SC05841A
