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Updated: Jan 20, 2026

Detection of Protease Activity by Fluorescent Peptide Zymography
Published on: January 20, 2019
A Selective Cucurbit[8]uril-Peptide Beacon Ensemble for the Ratiometric Fluorescence Detection of Peptides
Debabrata Maity1, Khaleel I Assaf2, Wilhelm Sicking1
1Institute of Organic Chemistry, University of Duisburg-Essen, Universitatsstrasse 7, 45117, Essen, Germany.
Abstract:
A convenient supramolecular strategy for constructing a ratiometric fluorescent chemosensing ensemble, consisting of a macrocyclic host (cucurbit[8]uril CB[8]), and a pyrene-tagged amphiphilic peptide beacon (AP 1), is reported. AP 1 unfolds upon encapsulation of the pyrene termini into the hydrophobic CB[8] cavity. This changes pyrene excimer to monomer emission. Substrates with higher affinity for the CB[8] cavity can displace AP 1 from the ensemble. The released AP 1 folds again to form a pyrene excimer, which allows for the ratiometric fluorescence monitoring of the substrate. In this report, the ensemble capacity for ratiometric fluorescence monitoring of biological substrates, such as amino acid derivatives, specific peptides, and proteins, in aqueous media is demonstrated.
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