ARTIFICIAL PROTEIN SENSOR FOR PROTEASE ACTIVITY AND INHIBITION

The present invention discloses a reliable protease activity biosensor for determining the cleavage of a protease recognition site that can be viewed by FRET, fluorescence change or by SDS-PAGE electrophoresis. This biosensor consists of a globular domain, a flexible connector with a variable protease recognition/cleavage area and a second globular domain. The proposed invention can be useful for detecting proteases and assessing the activity thereof, as well as finding novel protease inhibitors or monitoring the efficiency of therapeutic agents in patients undergoing treatment. The proposed biosensor is an engineered protein from the rational engineering of proteins which makes this molecule unique and not available in nature.