{
  "abstract": "Here, we present a class of peptide-conjugated fluorophores based on aromatic thioethers with aggregation-induced emission (AIE) properties for specific recognition of small proteins and also the first solution NMR structure of an AIE ligand specifically bound to a protein. Binding of the hPin1-WW domain as a model protein resulted in a significant fluorescence increase, making these AIE-peptide fluorophores suitable as direct readout probes for specific protein interactions. Autofluorescence and protein-binding properties were elucidated as a function of peptide length and fluorophore concentration. While an AIE fluorophore with two conjugated peptides shows an enhanced fluorescence increase upon protein binding, a one-armed derivative enabled us to solve the structures of the free AIE-peptide and its complex. In the absence of a protein, the AIE-peptide conjugate shows a curled-up conformation that still allows rotation of the aromatic rings of the AIE-core, thus resulting in low auto-fluorescence. In contrast, the AIE-peptide unfurls upon binding, allowing the hPin1-WW domain to interact with its peptide recognition sequence. The aromatic rings of the AIE-core form additional contacts with the protein surface, which restricts their motions and thus results in the observed fluorescence increase.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "aStructural and Medicinal Biochemistry, University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany.",
    "bFaculty of Chemistry (Organic Chemistry), University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany.",
    "cInstitute of Structural Biology, Grenoble Alpes University, Grenoble, France.",
    "dChemical Biology, University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany.",
    "ePhysical Chemistry, University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany."
  ],
  "article_type": "research article",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 10,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Daniel Seifert"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Matthias Hayduk"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Torsten Herrmann"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        3
      ],
      "name": "David Podlesainski",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-1111-8042"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Jill Rohde"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        4
      ],
      "name": "Jürgen Linders"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        3
      ],
      "name": "Markus Kaiser",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-6540-8520"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Peter Bayer",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-0435-7202"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Jens Voskuhl",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-9612-2306"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Christine Beuck",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-7513-7384"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/a9bt9f3rbqg8g.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.1039/d6cb00109b",
  "fulltext_url": "https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13670144/?tool=EBI",
  "id": "a9bt9f3rbqg8g",
  "issns": [
    "2633-0679"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC13670144",
  "language": "eng",
  "licence": "CC-BY",
  "licence_label": "CC BY",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "heading",
      "Chemistry"
    ],
    [
      "lcc",
      "QD1-999"
    ],
    [
      "lcc",
      "QH301-705.5"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "2505|Luminescence and Fluorescent Materials"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7222245449",
  "pdf_url": "https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13670144/pdf/?tool=EBI",
  "pmcid": "PMC13670144",
  "pmid": "42889470",
  "published": "2026-10-01",
  "publisher": "The Royal Society of Chemistry",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/a9bt9f3rbqg8g.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:18:25Z",
      "native_id": "PMC:PMC13670144",
      "source": "europepmc",
      "url": "https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC13670144"
    },
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-11-05T14:21:03Z",
      "native_id": "24f58b72b169476fb4d5e06b92f62f03",
      "source": "doaj",
      "url": "https://doi.org/10.1039/d6cb00109b"
    },
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-11-07T12:23:32Z",
      "native_id": "PMC13670144",
      "source": "pmc",
      "url": "https://doi.org/10.1039/d6cb00109b"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "chemistry",
      "origin": "openalex:2505|Luminescence and Fluorescent Materials",
      "subfield": "materials-polymers"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Solution structure of a peptide-conjugated aggregation-induced-emission (AIE) fluorophore bound to a protein",
  "title_text": "Solution structure of a peptide-conjugated aggregation-induced-emission (AIE) fluorophore bound to a protein",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-11-08T12:21:01Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/a9bt9f3rbqg8g",
  "venue": "RSC chemical biology",
  "versions": []
}