Site-selective lysine conjugation methods and applications towards antibody-drug conjugates

Site-selective protein modification is of significant interest in chemical biology research, with lysine residues representing a particularly challenging target. Whilst lysines are popular for bioconjugation, due to their nucleophilicity, solvent accessibility and the stability of the resultant conjugates, their high abundance means site-selectivity is very difficult to achieve. Antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) present a powerful therapeutic application of protein modification, and have often relied extensively upon lysine bioconjugation for their synthesis. Here we discuss advances in methodologies for achieving site-selective lysine modification, particularly within the context of antibody conjugate construction, including the cysteine-to-lysine transfer (CLT) protocol which we have recently reported. In this feature article we discuss developments in site-selective lysine modification methodologies and their application towards the synthesis of antibody-drug conjugates; including our recent work on a cysteine-to-lysine transfer (CLT) protocol.