The incorporation of abiotic transition metal catalysis into the chemical biology space has significantly expanded the tool kit of bioorthogonal chemistries accessible for cell culture and in vivo applications. A rich variety of homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysts has shown functional compatibility with physiological conditions and biostability in complex environs, enabling their exploitation as extracellular or intracellular factories of bioactive agents. Current trends in the field are focusing on investigating new metals and sophisticated catalytic devices and toward more applied activities, such as the integration of subcellular, cell- and site-targeting capabilities or the exploration of novel biomedical applications. We present herein an overview of the latest advances in the field, highlighting the increasing role of transition metals for the controlled release of therapeutics.

将非生物过渡金属催化纳入化学生物学领域，显着扩展了可用于细胞培养和体内的生物正交化学工具包应用程序。丰富多样的均相和非均相催化剂在复杂环境中显示出与生理条件和生物稳定性的功能相容性，使其能够作为生物活性剂的细胞外或细胞内工厂进行开发。该领域当前的趋势是专注于研究新金属和复杂的催化装置，以及更多的应用活动，例如亚细胞、细胞和位点靶向能力的整合或探索新的生物医学应用。我们在此概述了该领域的最新进展，重点介绍了过渡金属在治疗药物控制释放方面日益重要的作用。