Issue 17, 2023

Visible-light-induced protein labeling in live cells with aryl azides

Abstract

Chemical labeling of proteins in live cells helps to probe their native functions in biological systems. Aryl azides are chemically inert under physiological conditions, but they are activated by certain external stimuli. Recently, photocatalytic live-cell applications of aryl azides by visible light irradiation have become a burgeoning new field in chemical biology. In this Feature Article, we focus on the recent progress of protein labeling in live cells with aryl azides induced by visible-light irradiation. Light irradiation activates aryl azides to generate highly reactive intermediates, which enables protein labeling for protein functionalization, crosslinking, and profiling. The activation mechanism of aryl azides by light irradiation is categorized as photolysis, energy-transfer, and electron-transfer. The extracellular and intracellular protein labeling applications in live cells with aryl azides induced by visible light are discussed, including recent advances in red-light-induced extracellular protein labeling.

Graphical abstract: Visible-light-induced protein labeling in live cells with aryl azides

Article information

Article type
Feature Article
Submitted
23 12 2022
Accepted
26 1 2023
First published
27 1 2023
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY-NC license

Chem. Commun., 2023,59, 2413-2420

Visible-light-induced protein labeling in live cells with aryl azides

Y. Zhang, J. Tan and Y. Chen, Chem. Commun., 2023, 59, 2413 DOI: 10.1039/D2CC06987C

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