Section 3.1 - Reagents for Modifying Alcohols

Although alcohols (including phenols such as tyrosine and the alcohol groups in serine, threonine, sterols and carbohydrates) are abundant in biomolecules, their chemical reactivity in aqueous solution is extremely low. Few reagents are selective for alcohols in aqueous solution, especially in the presence of more reactive nucleophiles such as thiols and amines. It is therefore difficult to selectively modify serine, threonine and tyrosine residues in proteins except when they exhibit unusual reactivity, such as by residing at an enzyme’s active site.