Chemistry
Designing Bioorthogonal Reactions for Live Cell Labeling
Quick fact
The first bioorthogonal reaction was the Staudinger ligation, introduced in 2000 by Carolyn Bertozzi, who later won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for this work.
Why this is interesting
You've probably seen stunning images of proteins moving inside live cells. But how can we 'see' a single type of molecule among thousands in a living cell—without breaking the cell apart? The answer lies in a chemical reaction that works quietly and safely inside the cell itself.