Products
Services
Resources
Selection Guides
About
Click Chemistry Building Blocks
Our portfolio includes azide-, alkyne-, DBCO-, BCN-, TCO-, and tetrazine-functionalized building blocks, such as fluorescent dyes that span the full visible spectrum and reactive intermediates, designed for both copper-catalyzed (CuAAC) and strain-promoted (SPAAC) click reactions.
iFluor® Azides/Alkynes — Superior brightness and photostability for demanding imaging applications
FastClick™ — Reagents containing click-assisting groups (CAGs) for accelerated CuAAC reactions
DBCO/BCN — Copper-free click chemistry for live cell and in vivo labeling
FastClick™ — Reagents containing click-assisting groups (CAGs) for accelerated CuAAC reactions
DBCO/BCN — Copper-free click chemistry for live cell and in vivo labeling
Browse Click Chemistry Building Blocks
Use this guide to identify compatible reactive group pairings for your click chemistry labeling experiments. Each row shows a reactive group on your biomolecule and its compatible dye/reagent partner from the AAT Bioquest catalog.
Your Biomolecule Has | Use Dye/Reagent With | Reaction Type | Catalyst Required |
|---|---|---|---|
Azide (-N₃) | Terminal Alkyne | CuAAC | Cu(I) + ligand |
Azide (-N₃) | DBCO | SPAAC | None (copper-free) |
Azide (-N₃) | BCN | SPAAC | None (copper-free) |
Terminal Alkyne (≡CH) | Azide | CuAAC | Cu(I) + ligand |
DBCO | Azide | SPAAC | None (copper-free) |
BCN | Azide | SPAAC | None (copper-free) |
TCO (trans-cyclooctene) | Tetrazine | IEDDA | None |
Tetrazine | TCO / norbornene | IEDDA | None |
Alkyne-functionalized dyes react with azide-modified biomolecules via copper-catalyzed azide-alkyne cycloaddition (CuAAC).
- iFluor® alkynes spanning UV to near-infrared wavelengths
- XFD alkynes as Alexa Fluor® alternatives
- Tide Fluor™ alkynes optimized for FRET applications
- Terminal alkynes for standard CuAAC click reactions
- Applications in EdU cell proliferation and metabolic labeling
DBCO-functionalized dyes enable copper-free strain-promoted click reactions with azide-labeled targets.
- Dibenzocyclooctyne chemistry for live cell labeling
- No copper catalyst required—biocompatible for in vivo use
- Fast reaction kinetics without cytotoxic metals
- Ideal for glycan labeling and cell surface modification
- Higher reactivity, bulkier, more hydrophobic
BCN-functionalized reagents provide an alternative strain-promoted chemistry for copper-free click reactions.
- Bicyclononyne reactivity with azides
- Smaller size than DBCO for reduced steric hindrance
- Suitable for protein and nucleic acid labeling
- Compatible with live cell applications
TCO-functionalized dyes participate in ultrafast inverse electron-demand Diels-Alder reactions with tetrazines.
- Trans-cyclooctene chemistry for fastest bioorthogonal reactions
- Reaction rates 1000× faster than standard click chemistry
- Ideal for real-time imaging of rapid biological processes
- Pretargeted imaging applications in vivo
Tetrazine-functionalized dyes react with TCO, cyclopropene, and other strained dienophiles.
- Complementary partner for TCO-based click chemistry
- Fluorogenic tetrazines for turn-on detection
- Multiple color options across visible spectrum
- Applications in pretargeted radioligand therapy
Azide-functionalized dyes react with terminal alkynes in CuAAC reactions and with strained cyclooctynes (DBCO, BCN) in copper-free SPAAC reactions.
- iFluor® azides for superior brightness and photostability
- XFD azides as cost-effective Alexa Fluor® alternatives
- Tide Fluor™ azides for FRET probe synthesis
- Compatible with EdU, AHA, and other metabolic labels
- Full spectral range from blue to near-infrared
This document (01.0319.251203r1) was last updated on Thu Jul 16 2026. All trademarks and registered trademarks mentioned herein are the property of their respective owners.