Concise and modular synthesis of regioisomeric haptens for the production of high-affinity and stereoselective antibodies to the strobilurin azoxystrobin

The immune response to regioisomeric haptens of azoxystrobin with varied derivatization sites was studied. Based on the Sonogashira and Suzuki-Miyaura couplings and following a straightforward modular design, we have synthesized four haptens with the same linker anchored through C-C bonds and located at different sites of the molecule. The most stereoselective antibodies were produced from immunogens with the spacer arm at a distal position from the β-methoxyacrylate moiety characteristic of strobilurins. Moreover, we observed that assay cross-reactivity was reliant on the functionalization site of the competitor derivative. Finally, the antibody binding site was explored using synthetic chemical analogues.