Preparation and Assessment of Self-immolative Linkers for Therapeutic Bioconjugates with Amino- and Hydroxyl-containing Cargoes.

A series of self-immolative linkers containing a thiol-reactive group at one end and a hydroxyl- or amine-reactive group at the other have been prepared. The utility of these reagents for preparations of bioconjugates has been explored by reacting the linkers with appropriately functionalized model drugs and peptides. Degradation studies of a series of conjugates with different linkers reveal that the structure of the linkers has a significant impact on their stability.