Controlling maleimide hydrolysis allows the modular construction of bromomaleimide-mediated bioconjugates which are either stable or cleavable in an aqueous, thiol-mediated reducing environment. The application of this methodology to reversible protein biotinylation, the irreversible labeling of peptide disulfide bonds and the assembly of stable, fluorescein-labelled glycoprotein mimics is described.
© The Royal Society of Chemistry 2011