Black phosphorus nanosheets based sensitive protease detection and inhibitor screening

Publication date: Available online 8 January 2019

Source: Talanta

Author(s): Zhenzhen Hu, Yongxin Li, Ejaz Hussain, Xinan Huang, Yunyi Zhang, Niu Niu, Sohail Anjum Shahzad, Cong Yu

Abstract

Proteases, as one of the most significant kind of digestive enzymes, are closely related to a variety of physiological processes and diseases. Herein, a black phosphorus nanosheets (BPs) based sensitive fluorometric method for protease detection and inhibitor screening is proposed. The aqueous solution of perylene probe (probe 1) displays a strong fluorescence. BPs, as novel discovered two-dimensional (2D) materials, can adsorb probe 1 through electrostatic interactions, which causes fluorescence quenching of probe 1. Histone can control the interactions between the perylene probe and BPs, which can be further regulated by the introduction of a protease. Thus, the protease activity can be monitored by detecting the fluorescence intensity changes of probe 1. The method is label free, sensitive and selective. As low as 1 ng/mL trypsin can be easily detected.

Graphical abstract

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