teaching

This course introduces bioorthogonal chemistry: reactions that are designed to function inside living cells without disturbing native biology. We explore bond-forming ligations for precise labelling, imaging, and capture, alongside bond-cleavage strategies that unlock function on demand, enabling controlled activation of probes and therapeutics with spatial and temporal precision. Emphasis will be on practical design principles such as chemoselectivity, kinetics at low concentration, handle stability and biocompatibility, and how these govern success in real biological settings. We will also connect to enabling platforms to illustrate how chemistry can be programmed to ask and answer the most pressing questions in living cells.