The design of photochemical crosslinking reagents

The reagents in current use for protein crosslinking have one chemically reactive and one photochemically reactive arm, often connected by a cleavable bridge for subsequent two-dimensional electrophoretic analyses. Chemical attachment is carried out first, and the crosslink is completed by photolysis. Many of these so-called heterobifunctional molecules are listed in Table 5.1 and some of them, conforming to the criteria outlined below, 

For inexpensive incorporation I, Excellent leaving group resulting 

Photochemical, heterobifunctional reagents for crosslinking and for the synthesis of photoaffinity labels 

8 The aldehyde group may be reduced with NaB3H4 to introduce radioactivity 

36-38 Can first modify —NH2 with HS(CH2)3 C=NH(OCH3) and then use this reagent. Available from Fluka and Pierce 39 

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