Site-selective incorporation and ligation of protein aldehydes

The incorporation of aldehyde handles into proteins, and subsequent chemical reactions thereof, is rapidly proving to be an effective way of generating homogeneous, covalently linked protein constructs that can display a vast array of functionality. In this review, we discuss methods for introducing aldehydes into target proteins, and summarise the ligation strategies for site-selective modification of proteins containing this class of functional handles. The incorporation of aldehyde handles into proteins, and subsequent chemical reactions thereof, is rapidly proving to be an effective way of generating homogeneous, covalently linked protein constructs that can display a vast array of functionality.