Solid-Phase Synthesis of s-Tetrazines

Org Lett. 2023 May 5;25(17):3104-3108. doi: 10.1021/acs.orglett.3c00955. Epub 2023 Apr 21.

Abstract

An efficient synthesis of s-tetrazines by solid-phase methods is described. This synthesis route was compatible with different solid-phase resins and linkers and did not require metal catalysts or high temperatures. Monosubstituted tetrazines were routinely synthesized using thiol-promoted chemistry, using dichloromethane as a carbon source, while disubstituted unsymmetrical aryl or alkyl tetrazines were synthesized using readily available nitriles. This efficient approach enabled the synthesis of s-tetrazines in high yields (70-94%), eliminating the classical solution-phase problems of mixtures of symmetrical and unsymmetrical tetrazines, with only a single final purification step required, and paves the way to the rapid synthesis of s-tetrazines with various applications in bioorthogonal chemistry and beyond.