Transition-metal-catalyzed C–H functionalization for late-stage modification of peptides and proteins

Abstract

Late-stage modification of peptides and proteins meets the increasing demand in biochemical and pharmaceutical communities. These modification strategies could provide functionalized non-proteinogenic analogues with enhanced biological activities or improved therapeutic capabilities compared to their natural counterparts. Recent years, transition-metal-promoted functionalization of ubiquitous C–H bonds has been emerged as a powerful and tunable tool in this area, both for backbone diversifications and labeling of specific moieties. These reactions were flexible and expedient in both academic and industrial laboratories, especially considering their atom and step-economy, good functional group compatibility, accurate site selectivity. This review surveys the progress achieved in the late-stage modification of peptides and proteins utilizing transition-metal-catalyzed C–H functionalization with C–C and C–X (F, Cl, O, N, B, etc.) bonds formation.