Toward a Click-to-Click Strategy Enabled by Sequential Reverse Cope Cyclization and Strain-Promoted Alkyne–Nitrone Cycloaddition of In Situ Generated Nitrones

Primary hydroxylamines rapidly react with strained cyclooctynes under mild conditions to produce nitrones. A diverse set of RNHOH derivatives, including amino-acid- and carbohydrate-based substrates, undergo efficient coupling with BCN to furnish the corresponding nitrones in good yields. Comparison of several cyclooctynes highlights substantial differences in reactivity, with DBCO-acid displaying the fastest reaction ( k 2 > 23 M –1 s –1 ). The resulting nitrones can subsequently participate in strain-promoted alkyne–nitrone cycloaddition (SPANC) reactions, enabling a sequential “click-to-click” ligation of up to three components.