The copper(I)-catalyzed dipolar [2 þ 3] cycloaddition reaction of an azide and a terminal alkyne is exploited in the preparation of various europium(III), terbium(III), and dysprosium(III) chelates (Schemes 1 -3). By changing the nature of the alkyne and the azide, a wide range of chelates and biomolecule-labeling reactants were obtained. The photophysical properties (Table) of the synthesized chelates are also discussed.Introduction. -The copper(I)-catalyzed Huisgen -Sharpless dipolar [2 þ 3] cycloaddition of azide and alkyne is a powerful direct method to prepare 1,4-disubstituted 1H-1,2,3-triazoles [1]. This reaction has been used increasingly in modular drug development, in the preparation of small-molecule radiopharmaceuticals, in DNA sequencing [2], and also for the conjugation of various label molecules to nanomaterials [3] and biomolecules [4]. The reaction has also been exploited in the preparation of peptidomimetics [5], oligonucleotide -carbohydrate conjugates [6], and various organic molecules [7].The labels disclosed in the literature of click chemistry are organic dyes. However, the organic fluorophores suffer from several drawbacks, such as Raman and Rayleigh scattering, low water solubility and concentration quenching. Thus, multilabeling of biomolecules with organic fluorophores may not enhance the detection sensitivity to the degree required in several applications. Furthermore, this type of labels may decrease the water solubility of the target molecule dramatically.Lanthanide(III) chelates have several special properties which make them excellent alternatives in bioaffinity assays [8]. Their large Stokes shift has a decreasing effect on scattering phenomena. The long fluorescence decay after excitation of these molecules allows time-delayed signal detection, which eliminates completely the background luminescence originating, e.g., from buffer components, plastics, and biomaterials. The very narrow emission lines allow the use of effective filters which diminish the background. Since the lanthanide(III) chelates do not suffer from concentration quenching, it is possible to have several luminescent chelates in close proximity. Furthermore, the chelates are most commonly readily soluble in water. The different photophysical properties of europium, samarium, terbium, and dysprosium chelates enable even development of multiparametric homogeneous assays; with conventional fluorescent compounds, this is much more difficult because of the strong overlapping of the emission spectra.