Synthesis of an Azide- and Tetrazine-Functionalized [60]Fullerene and Its Controlled Decoration with Biomolecules

Bingel cyclopropanation between Buckminster fullerene and a heteroarmed malonate was utilized to produce a hexakis-functionalized C60 core, with azide and tetrazine units. This orthogonally bifunctional C60 scaffold can be selectively one-pot functionalized by two pericyclic click reactions, that is, inverse electron-demand Diels–Alder and azide–alkyne cycloaddition, which with appropriate ligands (monosaccharides, a peptide and oligonucleotides tested) allows one to control the assembly of heteroantennary bioconjugates.