Disulfide-based linkers

Disulfides, diselenides, and ditellurides can be oxidized by hypervalent iodine compounds quite easily. Depending on the reaction conditions disulfides can be oxidized to sulfinic esters [59] or thiosulfonic S-esters [60,61]. Diselenides can be transformed into selenosulfonates [62]. Arenetellurinic mixed anhydrides are mild oxidants and can be obtained by oxidation of the corresponding ditellurides as shown in Scheme 9 [63]. Recently it was shown that a thioacetal based linker for solid-phase synthesis can be cleaved oxidatively using [bis(trifluoro-acetoxy)iodo]benzene 4 [64]. 

Four recent examples of universal linkers/supports, in which the first nucleoside is anchored onto the preformed linker-support construct, are shown in Fig. 2.14. The disulfide linker 2.33 has been used to prepare terminal 3 -phosphate ONs (94, 95) through cleavage with a solution of ammonia in dithiothreitol. The photolabile linker 2.34 (96) is used to prepare 3 -alkyl carboxylic acids. The allyl-based linker 2.35 (97) is used to prepare free 3 -OH ONs by cleavage with Pd(0) and treatment with an aqueous buffer at pH 10. The linker 2.36 (98) differs from those discussed so far in... 

An interesting linker is based on bis(4-hydroxyphenyl)disulfide 3 (Scheme 9.9). Both MPEG and the carbohydrate are linked as ethers, and for removal from MPEG, the linker s disulfide bond is reductively split by propanedithiol. The carbohydrate is freed as a glycoside of 4-hydroxyphenylmercaptan.38... 

Hunter and Waltho have examined disulfide exchange in peptidic DCLs directed towards binding of the calcium transducer calmodulin (CaM) [23]. The DCL was based upon a known binding motif for CaM consisting of two hydrophobic peptides connected by a flexible linker—ideally suited to a DCC investigation. The library components are shown in Fig. 2.10, and consist of cystine dimers containing hydrophobic amino acid residues. 

Figure 11.6. Schematic diagram showing the assembly of IL-12 protein for antibody-based drug delivery, (a) The mature sequences of the p35 subunit of IL-12 are fused to the C-terminus of the heavy chain of a tumour-specific antibody and co-expressed with the antibody light chain and the p40 subunit of IL-12. Formation of the final immunocytokine requires the creation of disulfide bridges between the antibody chains and interactions of p35 and p40 subunits of IL-12 [119]. (b) Alternatively the IgG heavy chain and both subunits of IL-12 can be linked via flexible linkers allowing for equimolar assembly of IL-12 [120].

Reported structures for homobifunctional aryl azides include a biphenyl derivative and a naphthalene derivative (Mikkelsen and Wallach, 1976), a biphenyl derivative containing a central, cleavable disulfide group (Guire, 1976), and a compound containing a central l,3-diamino-2-propanol bridge between phenyl azide rings that are nitrated (Guire, 1976). The only commercially available homobifunctional photoreactive cross-linker is BASED. 

The homobifunctional photoreactive BASED (Chapter 4, Section 5.1) has two photoreactive phenyl azide groups, each of which contains an activating hydroxyl. Radioiodination of the cross-linker can yield one or two iodine atoms on each ring, creating an intensely radioactive compound. Cross-links formed between two interacting molecules are reversible by disulfide reduction, thus allowing tractability of both components of the conjugate. 

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