3-Maleimidopropionic acid is a heterobifunctional linker building block featuring a maleimide electrophile for selective conjugation with thiols and a terminal carboxylic acid that enables further coupling or incorporation into PROTAC architectures. Structurally, it provides a short, flexible propionic spacer between the maleimide and the acid functionality, which helps position the reactive group for efficient intermolecular reactions while maintaining compatibility with peptide, small-molecule, or polymeric ligands. In PROTAC design, the maleimide moiety can be used to install a thiol-bearing handle on one component, thereby enabling covalent tethering to cysteine-containing ligands, engineered protein-binding modules, or thiol-functionalized linkers. The carboxyl group can be leveraged for amide-bond formation to connect to E3 ligase recruiters or other targeting ligands, supporting modular synthesis and rapid optimization. As a widely used thiol-reactive linker, it is valuable for constructing stable conjugates and for exploring structure–activity relationships in targeted protein degradation research.
Structure of 7423-55-4
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3-Maleimidopropionic acid, provides a chemically robust handle for constructing conjugates in targeted protein degradation workflows. Its maleimide functionality enables efficient coupling to thiol-bearing ligands, supporting modular assembly of PROTACs with controlled linker presentation. The propionic acid motif further supports downstream derivatization and solubility tuning. The details of its structure and practical reactivity considerations are provided below.
Structure: 3-Maleimidopropionic acid contains a maleimide ring conjugated to a propionic acid side chain, featuring an activated alkene within the maleimide and a carboxylic acid for polarity control. The molecule includes carbonyl-linked imide functionalities and a saturated methylene spacer.
Reactivity: Maleimides typically undergo thiol–maleimide addition under mildly basic, aqueous-compatible conditions, proceeding via nucleophilic attack of a deprotonated thiol followed by rapid Michael-type addition to form a stable thioether linkage. For PROTAC assembly, thiol-containing warheads or intermediates are commonly reacted with the linker in buffered solvents such as aqueous alcohol mixtures. Careful control of pH and exclusion of competing thiols helps preserve coupling efficiency.
* Our calculator is based on the following equation:
Concentration (start) x Volume (start) = Concentration (final) x Volume (final)
It is commonly abbreviated as: C1V1 = C2V2
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