DBCO-NH-PEG4-amine | CAS 1255942-08-5

DBCO-NH-PEG4-amine is a DBCO-functionalized, PEGylated amine reagent designed for strain-promoted azide–alkyne cycloaddition (SPAAC) in click chemistry workflows. The scaffold couples a cyclooctyne (DBCO) click handle with a short, flexible PEG4 spacer terminating in a primary amine, which supports downstream conjugation and surface immobilization. This combination is commonly used to build modular bioconjugates, attach biomolecules to polymer or bead supports, and generate imaging or assay-ready labeling reagents with improved solubility and reduced nonspecific interactions.

1. Protein And Peptide Labeling

DBCO-NH-PEG4-amine is widely used to introduce a SPAAC-compatible DBCO handle onto proteins and peptides in labeling and profiling workflows. Researchers typically use the terminal amine for coupling to activated carboxylates or for incorporation into amine-reactive conjugation schemes, enabling subsequent azide-tagged partners to be installed via click chemistry. The PEG4 spacer helps maintain accessibility of the DBCO group and supports labeling strategies where steric effects and aggregation can otherwise limit conjugation efficiency. This reagent is therefore a common choice for preparing azide-reactive bioconjugates used in proteomics sample preparation, affinity-based capture experiments, and multicomponent labeling panels.

2. Surface Immobilization Chemistry

DBCO-NH-PEG4-amine supports immobilization of click-active materials on solid supports, including beads, membranes, and functionalized substrates used in diagnostics research and high-throughput screening. The primary amine enables attachment to surfaces or to linker layers that present reactive carboxyl or activated ester groups, while the DBCO moiety provides a robust SPAAC handle for later installation of azide-bearing probes or capture ligands. PEGylation contributes to a more hydrated interface, which can improve reagent handling and reduce nonspecific adsorption in surface-based assays. As a result, this reagent is frequently incorporated into workflows that require stable, covalent presentation of click handles for iterative probe assembly.

3. Biomaterials And Hydrogel Functionalization

DBCO-NH-PEG4-amine is used to functionalize biomaterials and polymer networks where click chemistry enables modular incorporation of bioactive or imaging components. The PEG4 chain and terminal amine facilitate integration into material-forming chemistries, such as coupling into polymer backbones or attaching to pre-functionalized hydrogel precursors, while preserving the DBCO group for subsequent azide-reactive crosslinking or labeling. In biomaterials science, this approach is valued for enabling spatially and temporally controlled assembly of multi-component constructs without requiring copper catalysts. The reagent is commonly selected when researchers need a reliable SPAAC handle to decorate scaffolds with azide-functional biomolecules, affinity tags, or reporter moieties for mechanistic studies and materials characterization.

4. Fluorophore And Imaging Probe Assembly

DBCO-NH-PEG4-amine is frequently employed as a building block for constructing fluorescence and molecular imaging probes through SPAAC-based modular assembly. The reagent’s DBCO group allows rapid coupling to azide-functional dyes, affinity reporters, or imaging tags, while the PEG4 spacer helps maintain probe solubility and limits aggregation that can compromise labeling uniformity. The terminal amine also supports integration into probe design where additional conjugation handles are required for multivalent labeling or for attachment to carrier scaffolds. This makes DBCO-NH-PEG4-amine a practical choice for generating imaging-ready conjugates used in chemical biology experiments, probe optimization studies, and assay development requiring consistent click-compatible reagent architecture.