Toward intrinsically fluorescent proteomimetics: Fluorescent probe response to alpha helix structure of poly-γ-benzyl-l-glutamate

A fluorescent probe (1), developed for recognition of alpha helical secondary structure, shows a large fluorescence change upon titration with the synthetic protein PBLG. Compared to fluorophores of similar size and shape, 1 displayed the smallest dissociation constant (KD = 80 μM) when titrated with PBLG. These preliminary studies are directed toward developing small molecule proteomimetics that have intrinsic fluorescence and are specific for helical-protein binding-sites.