Recent developments in chemical conjugation strategies targeting native amino acids in proteins and their applications in antibody-drug conjugates.

Many fields in chemical biology and synthetic biology require effective bioconjugation methods to achieve their desired functions and activities. Among such biomolecule conjugates, antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) need a linker that provides a stable linkage between cytotoxic drugs and antibodies, whilst conjugating in a biologically benign, fast and selective fashion. This review focuses on how the development of novel organic synthesis can solve the problems of traditional linker technology.