Recent Advances in Bioorthogonal Click Chemistry for Biomedical Applications

Abstract

Bioorthogonal click chemistry, first introduced in the early 2000s, has become one of the most widely used approaches for designing advanced biomaterials for applications in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine, due to the selectivity and biocompatibility of the associated reactants and reaction conditions. In this review, we present recent advances in utilizing bioorthogonal click chemistry for the development of three-dimensional, biocompatible scaffolds and cell-encapsulated biomaterials. Additionally, we highlight recent examples using these approaches for biomedical applications including drug delivery, imaging, and cell therapy and discuss their potential as next generation biomaterials.

Bioorthogonal nanozymes: an emerging strategy for disease therapy

“…In Fig. 1a and b, since it was first proposed to use copper(I) as a transition metal catalyst for 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition between terminal alkynes and azides to synthesize [1,2,3]-triazole in mild environments, 12,42 CuAAC served as an ideal complement to the click reaction family and facilitated the development of TMC-based bioorthogonal chemistry in biomedical applications such as in situ synthesis of drugs, 29 disease therapy, 43 bioengineering, 44 etc. A universal feature of these various applications relying on the CuAAC reaction is that the investigators usually employ different approaches to avoid the most worrying drawbacks of the CuAAC reaction, that is, the instability and toxicity of Cu(I) catalysts in vivo.…”

Putting precision and elegance in enzyme immobilisation with bio-orthogonal chemistry

“…[59][60][61][62] However, the definition of bio-orthogonal chemistry has been gradually expanded to include chemical reactions in vitro as applied in the materials science and medical science. [63][64][65] This review focuses on biomolecule-mediated covalent ligation using a variety of so-called Tag/Catcher systems, enzyme-mediated ligation, incorporation of non-standard amino acids and tyrosine-mediated oxidation ligation for bioorthogonal immobilisation.…”

“…59–62 However, the definition of bio-orthogonal chemistry has been gradually expanded to include chemical reactions in vitro as applied in the materials science and medical science. 63–65…”

Initial Steps towards Spatiotemporal Signaling through Biomaterials Using Click-to-Release Chemistry

“…Thus, the next step in the improvement of functionalized biomaterials should focus on the protection and absolute control over the time and place of the release of signaling factors [ 43 ]. The field of click chemistry, and particularly “click-to-release” chemistry, offers unique opportunities for developing such spatiotemporal signaling scaffolds [ 44 ].…”