HIV-1 protease is essential for the life cycle of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), and is one of the most important clinical targets for antiretroviral therapies. In this work, we developed a graphene oxide (GO)-based fluorescence biosensing platform for the rapid, sensitive, and accurate detection of HIV-1 protease, in which fluorescent-labeled HIV-1 protease substrate peptide molecules were covalently linked to GO. In the absence of HIV-1 protease, fluorescein was effectively quenched by GO. In contrast, in the presence of HIV-1 protease, it would cleave the substrate peptide into short fragments, thus producing fluorescence. Based on this sensing strategy, HIV-1 protease could be detected at as low as 1.18 ng/mL. More importantly, the sensor could successfully detect HIV-1 protease in human serum. Such GO-based fluorescent sensors may find useful applications in many fields, including diagnosis of protease-related diseases, as well as sensitive and high-throughput screening of drug candidates.

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HIV-1蛋白酶对于人类免疫缺陷病毒（HIV）的生命周期至关重要，并且是抗逆转录病毒疗法最重要的临床靶标之一。在这项工作中，我们开发了一种基于氧化石墨烯（GO）的荧光生物传感平台，用于快速，灵敏和准确地检测HIV-1蛋白酶，其中荧光标记的HIV-1蛋白酶底物肽分子与GO共价连接。在没有HIV-1蛋白酶的情况下，GO可以有效地淬灭荧光素。相反，在存在HIV-1蛋白酶的情况下，它将把底物肽切割成短片段，从而产生荧光。基于这种传感策略，可以低至1.18 ng / mL的速度检测到HIV-1蛋白酶。更重要的是，该传感器可以成功检测人血清中的HIV-1蛋白酶。

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