N-DEVD-N′-morpholinecarbonyl-rhodamine 110: novel caspase-3 fluorogenic substrates for cell-based apoptosis assay

A novel caspase-3 substrate N-Ac-DEVD-N′-MC-R110, which is a fluorogenic substrate cleavable in a single step, has been prepared. It has a significantly higher enzyme turnover rate and sensitivity for detecting caspase-3 activity both in solution and living cells than existing fluorogenic substrates.