Click Chemistry with water soluble Cu(I) complexes

What is it about?

Copper(I)-catalyzed 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition of azides and terminal alkynes (CuAAC), better known as “Click” reaction, has triggered the use of 1,2,3-triazoles in bioconjugation, drug discovery, materials science and combinatorial chemistry. Here we report a new series of water-soluble catalysts based on N-heterocyclic carbenes (NHC)-Cu complexes which are additionally functionalized with a sulfonate group. The complexes show superior activity towards CuAAC reactions.

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