Structure-guided synthesis of a protein-based fluorescent sensor for alkyl halides
Kang, M.G., Lee, H., Kim, B.H., Dunbayev, Y., Seo, J.K., Lee, C., Rhee, H.W.(2017) Chem Commun (Camb) 53: 9226-9229
- PubMed: 28766590 
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.1039/c7cc03714g
- Primary Citation of Related Structures:  
5Y2X, 5Y2Y - PubMed Abstract: 
Alkyl halides are potentially mutagenic carcinogens. However, no efficient fluorescent sensor for alkyl halide detection in human-derived samples has been developed to date. Herein, we report a new protein-based fluorescent sensor for alkyl halides. Analysis of the HaloTag holo-crystal structure with its covalently attached ligand revealed an unexpected cavity, allowing for the design of a new fluorogenic ligand. This ligand showed the highest fluorescence response (300-fold) and fastest binding kinetics (t 1/2 < 150 s) to a HaloTag mutant (M175P) protein. This protein-based sensor system was effectively used to detect alkyl halides in human serum and monitor real-time protein alkylation.
Organizational Affiliation: 
Department of Chemistry, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), Ulsan 44919, Korea. rhee@unist.ac.kr.