Keywords
Abstract
The study of abiotic chemical reactions within living systems represents a transformative frontier in biomedical research, driven by the multidisciplinary integration, including synthetic biology, chemical biology, pharmacy and chemistry. The employment of bioorthogonal chemistry, and analogous methodologies facilitates the precise modulation of biological processes with high specificity, high fidelity and minimal off-target effects. This review systematically summarizes recent advances in the design and application of such in situ chemical reactions in living systems. A range of reaction types are introduced in the current review that have found significant application, including bioorthogonal transformations, cyanine-based photooxidation, in situ polymerization, and the like. A discussion of the mechanisms underlying these reactions and their key advantages are also comprehensively included. Subsequently, a generalization and summarization of representative biomedical applications is conducted, encompassing the domains of cellular behavior regulation, fluorescence imaging and antitumor therapy. Finally, we delineate the prevailing challenges and future directions for the development and translation of in situ chemical tools. The precise orchestration of chemistry in living environments holds great promise for unlocking novel diagnostic and therapeutic platforms, paving the way toward more effective and personalized treatments for complex diseases.
The bibliography includes 134 references