Protein Modification via Nitrile Oxide-Dehydroalanine Cycloaddition: Formation of Isoxazoline Ring on the Protein Backbone

Here we describe a novel catalyst-free 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition bioconjugation approach for chemical modification of proteins. The dehydroalanine (Dha)-containing protein reacts with nitrile oxides generated in situ through 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition in fully aqueous-buffered systems. This leads to the formation of a new isoxazoline ring at a pre-defined site (Dha) of the protein. Furthermore, the 1-pyrene isoxazoline-installed annexin V acts as a fluorescent probe, which successfully labels the outer cellular membranes of human cholangiocarcinoma (HuCCA-1) cells for detection of apoptosis.