| abstract |
Substrates for beta -lactamase of general formula (I) in which one of X and Y is a fluorescent donor moiety and the other is a quencher (which may or may not re-emit); R' is selected from the group consisting of H, lower (i.e. alkyl of 1 to about 5 carbon atoms) and (CH2)nOH, in which n is 0 or an integer from 1 to 5; R" is selected from the group consisting of H, physiologically acceptable metal and ammonium cations, - CHR<2>OCO(CH2)nCH3, -CHR<2>OCOC(CH3)3, acylthiomethyl, acyloxy-alpha-benzyl, delta-butyrolactonyl, methoxycarbonyloxymethyl, phenyl, methylsulphinylmethyl, beta-morpholinoethyl, dialkylaminoethyl, acyloxyalkyl, dialkylaminocarbonyloxymethyl and aliphatic, in which R<2> is selected from the group consisting of H and lower alkyl; A is selected from the group consisting of S, O, SO, SO2 and CH2; and Z' and Z" are linkers for the fluorescent donor and quencher moieties. Methods of assaying beta -lactamase activity and monitoring expression in systems using beta -lactamase as a reporter gene also are disclosed. <IMAGE> <IMAGE> |