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Updated: Jan 18, 2026
Visualization of Bacterial Resistance using Fluorescent Antibiotic Probes
Published on: March 2, 2020
Cucurbit[8]uril-mediated fluorescent indicator displacement: a novel "turn-on" fluorescent probe for gentamicin
Qinghong Bai1, Yu Xia2, Yukun Kang1
1Guizhou Key Laboratory of Macrocyclic and Supramolecular Chemistry, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Guizhou University, Guiyang 550025, China.
Abstract:
Gentamicin (GEN), an aminoglycoside antibiotic, is widely used in treating infections within the livestock industry but readily causes food residues and environmental pollution. This study developed a novel water-soluble supramolecular fluorescent probe DBTPy2+@Q[8], through host-guest interactions between the methylpyridine-modified benzothiophene cationic fluorophore (DBTPy2+) and cucurbit[8]uril (Q[8]). This enabled specific GEN recognition and detection via the fluorescence indicator displacement (FID) mechanism. The DBTPy2+-Q[8] assembly induced significant fluorescence quenching, while GEN addition rapidly restored fluorescence. The restored intensity exhibited a good linear relationship with GEN concentration in the range of 0.1-10 μM (R2 = 0.996), with a limit of detection (LOD) of 0.206 μM. The probe exhibited good selectivity and anti-interference capability, achieving 92.0%-104.1% spiked recoveries in water and food samples, and enabled specific GEN fluorescence imaging in living cells. This work establishes a novel supramolecular host-guest strategy for fluorescent probes enabling rapid, quantitative, specific GEN detection.
