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A single bioorthogonal reaction for multiplex cell surface protein labeling

Huang, Yang, Wu, Chengyang, Lu, Anjing, Wang, Jingzhe, Liang, Jian, Sun, Han, Yang, Liqing, Duan, Shixiang, Berezin, Andrey A., Wu, Chuanliu, Zhang, Bo, Wu, Yi-Lin ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0253-1625 and Tsai, Yu-Hsuan 2025. A single bioorthogonal reaction for multiplex cell surface protein labeling. Journal of the American Chemical Society 147 (2) , 1612–1623. 10.1021/jacs.4c11701

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Abstract

Small-molecule fluorophores are invaluable tools for fluorescence imaging. However, means for their covalent conjugation to the target proteins limit applications in multicolor imaging. Here, we identify 2-[(alkylthio)(aryl)methylene]malononitrile (TAMM) molecules reacting with 1,2-aminothiol at a labeling rate over 104 M–1 s–1 through detailed mechanistic investigation. The fast TAMM molecules and mild reaction conditions enable site-specific labeling of surface proteins in not only cell lines but also primary neurons and living mice. The combination of genetic code expansion and sequence-specific proteolytic cleavage enables selective modification of three different cell surface proteins through iterative TAMM condensation. TAMM condensation is also compatible with Cu-catalyzed azide–alkyne cycloaddition and tetrazine ligation for four-color fluorescent labeling, reaching the maximum available colors of conventional confocal microscopes. Thus, bioconjugation chemistry is no longer the limiting factor for multiplex cell surface protein imaging.

Item Type: Article
Date Type: Publication
Status: Published
Schools: Chemistry
Publisher: American Chemical Society
ISSN: 0002-7863
Funders: National Natural Science Foundation of China
Date of First Compliant Deposit: 6 January 2025
Date of Acceptance: 18 December 2024
Last Modified: 15 Jan 2025 13:18
URI: https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/175003

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