A peptide-based fluorescent chemosensor for multianalyte detection

•A novel peptide fluorescent chemosensor DP-3 has been designed as a promising analytical tool for detecting Zn2+, Cu2+, and S2− in 100% aqueous solution.•The chemosensor displays high selectivity and sensitivity with the detection limits of Zn2+ and Cu2+ measured to be 82 nM and 78 nM.•The chemosensor showed excellent cell permeation and low biotoxicity to realize the intracellular biosensing.•This study introduces the possibility of a highly selective peptide fluorescent chemosensor for a range of multifunctional detection in biological systems.

A novel multifunctional peptide fluorescent chemosensor (DP-3) with a lysine backbone and double sides conjugated with histidine and dansyl groups has been designed and synthesized by solid phase synthesis. This chemosensor is a promising analytical tool for detecting Zn2+, Cu2+, and S2− based on different mechanisms in 100% aqueous solutions, and intracellular biosensing has been successfully actualized. The peptide beacon structure of DP-3 makes it more stable and capable of achieving multianalyte detection, especially for sulfide ions. Until now, there have been few examples of using a peptide fluorescent chemosensor to detect anions with a continuous method. As designed, DP-3 exhibits excellent cell permeation and low biotoxicity and displays high selectivity and sensitivity, with Zn2+ and Cu2+ detection limits of 82 nM and 78 nM, respectively. This study raises the new possibility of a highly selective peptide fluorescent chemosensor for multifunctional detection, including cation and anions, by different mechanisms in environmental and biological systems. We expect that this work will inspire the development of a multifunctional beacon peptide-based fluorescent chemosensor library using modifiable lateral and terminal groups for a variety of practical applications in physiological and pathological events.

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