Biarsenical Fluorescent Probes

Abstract

Fluorescent biarsenical probes refer to chemical agents that are built on fluorescent platforms with two proton to arsenic substitutions at certain positions that are capped with two molecules of 1,2-ethanedithiol. The probes remain nonluminescent until protein conjugation when they became highly fluorescent. Due to stability of arsenic-sulfur bond, biarsenical probes have very high affinity to four cysteine residues, which may be genetically introduced to proteins as a short sequence appropriately spaced (e.g., CCPGCC) or by incorporation into secondary structure elements.