The WHO global action plan on antimicrobial resistance outlines the need for new diagnostic tools. Point-of-care testing for bacterial infections would enable clinically meaningful interventions using methods that are rapid, low-cost, easy-to-operate, and portable.
Selective detection of β-alanyl aminopeptidase (BAP)-producing Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Serratia marcescens, and Burkholderia cepacia was achieved by employing the blue-to-yellow fluorescent transition of a BAP-specific enzyme substrate, 3-hydroxy-2-(p-dimethylaminophenyl)flavone derivative, incorporating a self-immolative linker to β-alanine. Upon cellular uptake and accumulation of the substrate by viable bacterial colonies, blue fluorescence was generated, while hydrolysis of the N-terminal peptide bond by BAP resulted in the elimination of the self-immolative linker and the restoration of the original fluorescence of the flavone derivative.
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