Reversible Click Reactions with Boronic Acids to Build Supramolecular Architectures in Water

The interaction of boronic acids with various bifunctional reagents offers great potential for the preparation of responsive supramolecular architectures. Boronic acids react with 1,2-diols yielding cyclic boronate esters that are stable at pH>7.4 but can be hydrolyzed at pH<5.0. The phenylboronic acid (PBA)-salicylhydroxamic acid (SHA) system offers ultra-fast reaction kinetics and high binding affinities. This Focus Review summarizes the current advances in exploiting the bioorthogonal interaction of boronic acids to build pH-responsive supramolecular architectures in water.