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Multicomponent Bioluminescence Imaging with Naphthylamino Luciferins
Author(s) -
Brennan Caroline K.,
Ornelas Marya Y.,
Yao Zi W.,
Prescher Jennifer A.
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
chembiochem
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.05
H-Index - 126
eISSN - 1439-7633
pISSN - 1439-4227
DOI - 10.1002/cbic.202100202
Subject(s) - luciferases , bioluminescence , luciferase , luciferin , synthetic biology , bioluminescence imaging , multicellular organism , computational biology , substrate (aquarium) , protein engineering , substrate specificity , chemistry , biochemistry , nanotechnology , biology , biophysics , enzyme , materials science , ecology , transfection , gene
Bioluminescent tools have been used for decades to image processes in complex tissues and preclinical models. However, few distinct probes are available to probe multicellular interactions. We and others are addressing this limitation by engineering new luciferases that can selectively process synthetic luciferin analogues. In this work, we explored naphthylamino luciferins as orthogonal bioluminescent probes. Three analogues were prepared using an optimized synthetic route. The luciferins were found to be robust emitters with native luciferase in vitro and in cellulo . We further screened the analogues against libraries of luciferase mutants to identify unique enzyme‐substrate pairs. The new probes can be used in conjunction with existing bioluminescent tools for multi‐component imaging.