Firefly luciferase inhibitor-conjugated peptide quenches bioluminescence: a versatile tool for real time monitoring cellular uptake of biomolecules

Identification of 2-Benzylidene-tetralone Derivatives as Highly Potent and Reversible Firefly Luciferase Inhibitors

The extensive applications of Firefly luciferase (Fluc) in numerous biological, biomedical, and clinical investigations rendered an urgent need for efficient and biocompatible Fluc inhibitors for the construction of novel assay platforms. Herein we describe the identification of 2-benzylidene-tetralone derivatives as highly potent and reversible Firefly luciferase inhibitors by competing with d-luciferin. The most active compound 48 was found to have >7000 fold higher potency (IC₅₀ = 0.25 nM) than that of the well-known luciferase inhibitor resveratrol (IC₅₀ = 1.9 μM) biochemically with sub- to low nanomolar IC₅₀ values, and it can efficiently block the Fluc generated bioluminescence in vivo.

Light-Emitting Probes for Labeling Peptides

Peptides are versatile biopolymers composed of 2-100 amino acid residues that present a wide range of biological functions and constitute potential therapies for numerous diseases, partly due to their ability to penetrate cell membranes. However, their mechanisms of action have not been fully elucidated due to the lack of appropriate tools. Existing light-emitting probes are limited by their cytotoxicity and large size, which can alter peptide structure and function. Here, we describe the available fluorescent, bioluminescent, and chemiluminescent probes for labeling peptides, with a focus on minimalistic options.

Bioluminescent Protein-Inhibitor Pair in the Design of a Molecular Aptamer Beacon Biosensing System

Although bioluminescent molecular beacons designed around resonance quenchers have shown higher signal-to-noise ratios and increased sensitivity compared with fluorescent beacon systems, bioluminescence quenching is still comparatively inefficient. A more elegant solution to inefficient quenching can be realized by designing a competitive inhibitor that is structurally very similar to the native substrate, resulting in essentially complete substrate exclusion. In this work, we designed a conjugated anti-interferon-γ (IFN-γ) molecular aptamer beacon (MAB) attached to a bioluminescent protein, Gaussia luciferase (GLuc), and an inhibitor molecule with a similar structure to the native substrate coelenterazine. To prove that a MAB can be more sensitive and have a better signal-to-noise ratio, a bioluminescence-based assay was developed against IFN-γ and provided an optimized, physiologically relevant detection limit of 1.0 nM. We believe that this inhibitor approach may provide a simple alternative strategy to standard resonance quenching in the development of high-performance molecular beacon-based biosensing systems.

Quenching the firefly bioluminescence by various ions

Some specific ions could selectively inhibit firefly luciferase while having a negligible effect on renilla luciferase, which may be used in the improved dual luciferase reporter gene assay.

Preparation of useful building blocks, α-iodo- and bromoalkanols from cyclic ethers using the Dowex H+/NaX (X = I, Br) approach

Novel method for preparation of α-iodo- and bromoalkanols directly from cyclic ethers has been developed. Prepared compounds are highly important building blocks in synthetic chemistry for the preparation of more complex molecules.

Discovery of a series of 2-phenylnaphthalenes as firefly luciferase inhibitors

A series of 2-phenylnaphthalenes as firefly luciferase inhibitors are reported. The most potent compound 5 showed good systemic inhibition in transgenic mice. Kinetic assay indicated 5 is competitive for aminoluciferin and noncompetitive for ATP.

Synthesis of triple-bond-containing 1-hydroxy-1,1-bisphosphonic acid derivatives to be used as precursors in "click" chemistry: two examples

The synthesis of novel (ω-alkynyl-1-hydroxy-1,1-diyl)bisphosphonic acid tetramethyl esters (1a-c), their P,P'-dimethyl esters (2a-c), and two trimethyl ester derivatives (3a and 3b) is reported. The prepared compounds can be attached to many kinds of molecules containing azide (-N3) functionalities using a "click" chemistry approach. As an example, bisphosphonate trimethyl ester 3a and P,P'-dimethyl ester 2b were attached to triethylene glycol to form triethylene glycol-bisphosphonate conjugates 4 and 5 as model compounds for further studies in, for example, nanoparticle targeting.