Functionality Creating Reagents (253)

In bioconjugation, functional groups facilitate the covalent linking of two or more molecules. Functional reagents are employed to introduce new reactive groups to target molecules or linkers. Despite the wide variety of molecules, four primary chemical targets are commonly utilized in most bioconjugation methods: Primary amines (-NH2): react with NHS (N-hydroxysuccinimide) esters and water-soluble Sulfo-NHS esters for crosslinking. Carboxyl groups (-COOH): form peptide bonds when crosslinked with amino groups. Thiol/sulfhydryl groups (-SH): can be connected through disulfide bonds (-SS-). Aldehyde groups (-CHO): typically generated by oxidizing carbohydrate groups, such as those in glycoproteins, and can be crosslinked with molecules containing amino or hydrazine groups.