Steric and Stereoscopic Disulfide Construction for Cross-linkage via N-Dithiophthalimides

Disulfide bond is a significant motif in life and drug-delivery systems. Especially, steric hindrance and stereoscopic disulfide linkers are closely associated with the stability of antibody-drug conjugates, which affects the potency, selectivity, and pharmacokinetics of drugs. However, limited availability and diversity of tertiary thiols impede the construction of steric and stereoscopic disulfides for cross-linkage in biochemistry and pharmaceuticals. Through modulating mask effect of disulfurating reagents, we develop a facile and robust strategy for diverse steric and stereoscopic disulfides construction via N-dithiophthalimides. The practical cross-linkage of biomolecules including amino acids, saccharides, and nucleosides with different drugs and fluorescent molecules is successfully established through hindered disulfide linkers.