A Carbapenem-Based Off-On Fluorescent Probe for Specific Detection of Metallo-β-Lactamase Activities.

Metallo-β-lactamase is one of the major clinical threats because this β-lactam-hydrolyzing enzyme confers significant resistance to most β-lactam antibiotics, including carbapenems, among bacterial pathogens. Reported herein is a novel fluorogenic sensor for the specific detection of metallo-β-lactamase activities. This carbapenem-based reagent exhibits excellent selectivity to metallo-β-lactamase over other serine-β-lactamases, including serine carbapenemases. The usefulness of this probe was further demonstrated in the rapid identification of metallo-β-lactamase-expressing pathogenic bacteria.