Double-click enables synthesis of chemical libraries for drug discovery

Abstract

Operationally simple chemical reactions, termed click reactions, are widely used in many scientific fields. A streamlined synthesis of compounds called azides looks set to expand the role of click chemistry still further. See Letter p.86

Keywords: Chemistry; Organic chemistry; Synthesis.

Figure 1 |. A two-step click-chemistry sequence.

a, Meng et al. report that a reagent called fluorosulfuryl azide rapidly converts almost any primary amine into an azide at room temperature — a type of reaction known as diazotransfer. The reactions are fast and high yielding, and the reagent does not react with chemical groups other than amines; they therefore fulfil the criteria to be categorized as ‘click’ reactions. b, The authors show that the resulting azide solution can be used without purification in a copper(i)-catalysed click reaction with alkynes (compounds that contain carbon–carbon triple bonds) to produce products called triazoles, which are potentially useful in drug discovery. R, Rʹ and Rʹʹ represent any chemical group or molecular fragment.