title: The growing impact of click chemistry on drug discovery.
abstract: Click chemistry is a modular approach that uses only the most practical and reliable chemical transformations. Its applications are increasingly found in all aspects of drug discovery, ranging from lead finding through combinatorial chemistry and target-templated in situ chemistry, to proteomics and DNA research, using bioconjugation reactions. The copper-(I)-catalyzed 1,2,3-triazole formation from azides and terminal acetylenes is a particularly powerful linking reaction, due to its high degree of dependability, complete specificity, and the bio-compatibility of the reactants. The triazole products are more than just passive linkers; they readily associate with biological targets, through hydrogen bonding and dipole interactions.
authors.affiliation: The Scripps Research Institute, Department of Chemistry, 10550 North Torrey Pines Road, SP-227, La Jolla CA 92037, USA. hckolb@scripps.edu
authors.forename: Hartmuth C
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Kolb
authors.forename: K Barry
authors.initials: KB
authors.lastname: Sharpless
mesh_terms: D035843:Biomedical Research / Q000639:trends*; D020650:Combinatorial Chemistry Techniques / Q000379:methods*; D016503:Drug Delivery Systems; D015195:Drug Design; D008956:Models, Chemical