Poster Presentation International Peptide Symposium 2023

Design of peptide-based probes for detecting phospholipid head group (#390)

Jingyao You 1 2 , Bilge Ercan 1 2 , Stephen M. Bulter 1 2 , Katrina A. Jolliffe 1 2 3
  1. School of Chemistry, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
  2. ARC Centre of Excellence for Innovations in Peptide and Protein Science, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
  3. Sydney Nano, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia

Phospholipids are the main components of cell membranes and play a crucial role in providing structural barriers; they are also involved in cell signalling processes and vesicular trafficking. Many diseases are associated with lipid metabolic disorders.1 Different phospholipids vary in their different head groups or lipid chains, which makes it challenging to selectively detect a specific kind of phospholipid in the presence of other lipids with similar structures and charges.

A peptide-based probe with a zinc(II) dipicolylamine binding sites has previously been developed as a selective sensor for cell surface phosphatidylserine headgroups.2 This probe used an intramolecular indicator displacement sensing mechanism to achieve a“turn-on” fluorescence response, which exhibits good selectivity to phosphatidylserine(PS).

We are now focusing on the development of a series of probes to detect various types of phospholipid headgroups and exploring methods to enhance the multi-functionality of these probes by modifying both the binding motifs and fluorophores on the peptide backbone.

  1. Q. Li, S. Shinde, G. Grasso, A. Caroli, R. Abouhany, M. Lanzillotta, G. Pan, W. Wan, K. Rurack, B. Sellergren, “Selective detection of phospholipids using molecularly imprinted fluorescent sensory core-shell particles” Sci Rep, 10 (1), 9924, (2020),.
  2. V.E. Zwicker, B.L. Oliveira, J.H. Yeo, S.T. Fraser, G.J.L. Bernardes, E.J. New, K.A. Jolliffe, “A Fluorogenic Probe for Cell Surface Phosphatidylserine Using an Intramolecular Indicator Displacement Sensing Mechanism” Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., 58 (10), 3087-3091,(2019).