Mechanisms, Copper Catalysts, and Ligands Involved in the Synthesis of 1,2,3- Triazoles Using Click Chemistry

Abstract

Abstract: In the last two decades, click chemistry has become a modular synthetic procedure to assemble new molecular structures. It is a powerful methodology that relies on the construction of carbon-heteroatom bonds of a variety of reactants. In modern synthetic chemistry, it has been applied in a large number of applications, from pharmaceutical to material science. The copper-catalyzed 1,2,3-triazole preparation, reacting organic azides with alkynes, has become the star of click chemistry due to its reliability and biocompatibility. As a consequence, this reaction has found many applications in diverse areas such as bioconjugation, material science, and drug discovery. In order to understand the effect of copper catalysts and ligands in click chemistry, it is important to understand the structural and mechanistic aspects involved. In this review, several physicochemical aspects of click chemistry are discussed. First, the mechanisms and intermediates involved in the preparation of 1,2,3-triazoles. Second, the different types of copper catalysts are used to perform the reaction regioselectively. The last section shows the structure and characteristics of effective ligands utilized to improve click chemistry under different experimental conditions.