Environmentally Sensitive Fluorescent Sensors Based on Synthetic Peptides.docVIP

Sensors 2010, 10, 3126-3144; doi:10.3390/s100403126 OPEN ACCESS sensors ISSN 1424-8220 /journal/sensors Review Environmentally Sensitive Fluorescent Sensors Based on Synthetic Peptides Laurence Choulier 1,* and Karin Enander 2 1 Biosensor group, CNRS / Université de Strasbourg, IREBS, Parc dInnovation, Boulevard Sébastien Brandt, BP 10413, 67412 Illkirch cedex, France 2 Division of Molecular Physics, Department of Physics, Chemistry and Biology, Link?ping University, 581 83 Link?ping, Sweden; E-Mail: karen@ifm.liu.se * Author to whom correspondence should be addressed; E-Mail: laurence.choulier@unistra.fr; Tel.: +33-3 Fax: +33-3 Received: 6 January 2010; in revised form: 27 February 2010 / Accepted: 24 March 2010 / Published: 31 March 2010 Abstract: Biosensors allow the direct detection of molecular analytes, by associating a biological receptor with a transducer able to convert the analyte-receptor recognition event into a measurable signal. We review recent work aimed at developing synthetic fluorescent molecular sensors for a variety of analytes, based on peptidic receptors labeled with environmentally sensitive fluorophores. Fluorescent indicators based on synthetic peptides are highly interesting alternatives to protein-based sensors, since they can be synthesized chemically, are stable, and can be easily modified in a site-specific manner for fluorophore coupling and for immobilization on solid supports. Keywords: peptide biosensors; environmentally-sensitive fluorophore 1. Introduction A molecular biosensor [1] is a molecule composed of a biological recognition element (receptor) covalently associated with a transducer, generally a fluorophore, for signaling. The receptor is selected to  Sensors 2010, 10 3127 specifically recognize a molecule of interest (analyte), while the fluorophore responds to the recognit