Multicomponent reactions (MCRs) encompass an exciting class of chemical transformations that have proven success in almost all fields of synthetic organic chemistry. These convergent procedures incorporate three or more reactants into a final product in one pot, thus combining high levels of complexity and diversity generation with low synthetic cost. Striking applications of these processes are found in heterocycle, peptidomimetic, and natural product syntheses. However, their potential in the preparation of large macro- and biomolecular constructs has been realized just recently. This Account describes the most relevant results of our group in the utilization of MCRs for ligation/conjugation of biomolecules along with significant contributions from other laboratories that validate the utility of this special class of bioconjugation process. Thus, MCRs have proven to be efficient in the ligation of lipids to peptides and oligosaccharides as well as the ligation of steroids, carbohydrates, and fluorescent and affinity tags to peptides and proteins. In the field of glycolipids, we highlight the power of isocyanide-based MCRs with the one-pot double lipidation of glycan fragments functionalized as either the carboxylic acid or amine. In peptide chemistry, the versatility of the multicomponent ligation strategy is demonstrated in both solution-phase lipidation protocols and solid-phase procedures enabling the simultaneous lipidation and biotinylation of peptides. In addition, we show that MCRs are powerful methods for synchronized lipidation/labeling and macrocyclization of peptides, thus accomplishing in one step what usually requires long sequences. In the realm of protein bioconjugation, MCRs have also proven to be effective in labeling, site-selective modification, immobilization, and glycoconjugation processes. For example, we illustrate a successful application of multicomponent polysaccharide-protein conjugation with the preparation of multivalent glycoconjugate vaccine candidates by the ligation of two antigenic capsular polysaccharides of a pathogenic bacterium to carrier proteins. By highlighting the ability to join several biomolecules in only one synthetic operation, we hope to encourage the biomolecular chemistry community to apply this powerful chemistry to novel biomedicinal challenges.
A multicomponent reaction enables the one-pot assembly of immunogenic multivalent glycoconjugates.
Conjugate vaccines against encapsulated pathogens likeStreptococcus pneumoniae face many challenges, including the existence of multiple serotypes with a diverse global distribution that constantly requires new formulations and higher coverage. Multivalency is usually achieved by combining capsular polysaccharide−protein conjugates from invasive serotypes, and for S. pneumoniae, this has evolved from 7up to 20-valent vaccines. These glycoconjugate formulations often contain high concentrations of carrier proteins, which may negatively affect glycoconjugate immune response. This work broadens the scope of an efficient multicomponent strategy, leading to multivalent pneumococcal glycoconjugates assembled in a single synthetic operation. The bioconjugation method, based on the Ugi fourcomponent reaction, enables the one-pot incorporation of two different polysaccharide antigens to a tetanus toxoid carrier, thus representing the fastest approach to achieve multivalency. The reported glycoconjugates incorporate three combinations of capsular polysaccharides 1, 6B, 14, and 18C from S. pneumoniae. The glycoconjugates were able to elicit functional specific antibodies against pneumococcal strains comparable to those shown by mixtures of the two monovalent glycoconjugates.
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