Bioorthogonal catalysis for biomedical applications

Bioorthogonal chemistry, referring to chemical reactions occurring in a physiological environment without interfering with native biochemical reactions, has witnessed substantial progress during the past few decades. To date, bioorthogonal chemistry has achieved wide applications in biomedical practices, including prodrug activation, protein transformation, and cellular engineering. Here, we review the development and recent advances of bioorthogonal chemistry, with an emphasis on the biomedical application of bioorthogonal catalysis, aiming to provide an overview of the evolution and challenges in this field.