An Advanced 'clickECM' That Can be Modified by the Inverse-Electron-Demand Diels-Alder Reaction.

The extracellular matrix (ECM) represents the natural environment of cells in tissue and therefore is a promising biomaterial in a variety of applications. Depending on the purpose, it is necessary to equip the ECM with specific addressable functional groups for further modification with bioactive molecules, for controllable cross-linking and/or covalent binding to surfaces. Metabolic glycoengineering (MGE) enables the specific modification of the ECM with such functional groups without affecting the native structure of the ECM. In a previous approach (S. M. Ruff, S. Keller, D. E. Wieland, V. Wittmann, G. E. M. Tovar, M. Bach, P. J. Kluger, Acta Biomater. 2017, 52, 159-170), we demonstrated the modification of an ECM with azido groups, which can be addressed by bioorthogonal copper-catalyzed azide-alkyne cycloaddition (CuAAC). Here, we demonstrate the modification of an ECM with dienophiles (terminal alkenes, cyclopropene), which can be addressed by an inverse-electron-demand Diels-Alder (IEDDA) reaction. This reaction is cell friendly as there are no cytotoxic catalysts needed. We show the equipment of the ECM with a bioactive molecule (enzyme) and prove that the functional groups do not influence cellular behavior. Thus, this new material has great potential for use as a biomaterial, which can be individually modified in a wide range of applications.

Rapid glycoconjugation with glycosyl amines.

Conjugation of unprotected carbohydrates to surfaces or probes by chemoselective ligation reactions is indispensable for the elucidation of their numerous biological functions. In particular, the reaction with oxyamines leading to the formation of carbohydrate oximes which are in equilibrium with cyclic N-glycosides (oxyamine ligation) has an enormous impact in the field. Although highly chemoselective, the reaction is rather slow. Here, we report that the oxyamine ligation is significantly accelerated without the need for a catalyst when starting with glycosyl amines. Reaction rates are increased up to 500-fold compared to the reaction of the reducing carbohydrate. For comparison, aniline-catalyzed oxyamine ligation is only increased 3.8-fold under the same conditions. Glycosyl amines from mono- and oligosaccharides are easily accessible from reducing carbohydrates via the corresponding azides by using Shoda's reagent (2-chloro-1,3-dimethylimidazolinium chloride, DMC) and subsequent reduction. Furthermore, glycosyl amines are readily obtained by enzymatic release from N-glycoproteins making the method suited for glycomic analysis of these glycoconjugates which we demonstrate employing RNase B. Oxyamine ligation of glycosyl amines can be carried out at close to neutral conditions which makes the procedure especially valuable for acid-sensitive oligosaccharides.