The direct cross-coupling of two thiols is an attractive biomimetic concept for click chemistry, but leads to statistical mixtures of homo- and heterodimers. Here, the authors introduce a class of thiol-click reagents, bromo-ynones, where the kinetic differentiation between the first and second thiol addition onto these reagents facilitates a stepwise one-pot “cross-clicking” of two distinct thiols in aqueous media, without the need for intermediate isolation or purification.
- Marvin Nicque
- Jan H. Meffert
- Johan M. Winne
