A new fluorometric turn-on assay for alkaline phosphatase and inhibitor screening based on aggregation and deaggregation of tetraphenylethylene molecules

Based on the consideration that compound 1 with a –PO3H2 group can be hydrolyzed into compound 3 which shows low solubility in aqueous solutions and thus aggregation can occur easily, a new fluorescence turn-on assay has been constructed for alkaline phosphatase (ALP) with compound 1. ALP at concentrations as low as 18 mU mL−1 can be assayed with compound 1. Moreover, compound 1 has been successfully applied for ALP assay in living cells. Also, compound 1 is useful for screening inhibitors of ALP.