Linkers play critical roles in the construction of synthetic protein switches and sensors as they functionally couple a receptor with an actuator. With an increasing number of molecular toolboxes and experimental strategies becoming available that can be applied to engineer protein switches and sensors with tailored response functions, optimising the connecting linkers remains an idiosyncratic and empiric process. This review aims to provide an in-depth analysis of linker motifs, the biophysical properties they confer, and how they impact the performance of synthetic protein switches and sensors while identifying trends, mechanisms, and strategies that underlie the most potent switches and sensors.

连接器在合成蛋白质开关和传感器的构建中起着关键作用，因为它们在功能上将受体与执行器耦合。随着越来越多的分子工具箱和实验策略变得可用，可用于设计具有定制响应功能的蛋白质开关和传感器，优化连接接头仍然是一个特殊和经验的过程。本综述旨在深入分析链接基序、它们赋予的生物物理特性，以及它们如何影响合成蛋白质开关和传感器的性能，同时确定最有效的开关和传感器背后的趋势、机制和策略。