Q-SHINE: A versatile sensor for glutamine measurement via ligand-induced dimerization

Engineering the Signal Resolution of a Paper-Based Cell-Free Glutamine Biosensor with Genetic Engineering, Metabolic Engineering, and Process Optimization

“…Sensors 2024, 24, 3073 2 of 13 Conventional medical lab tests for glutamine, such as high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), have limited portability, high costs, and slow result times, which restrict patient access to treatment-monitoring tests [29,30]. This has motivated efforts to develop alternative glutamine biosensors utilizing a variety of biochemical and analytical methods [31][32][33][34][35][36][37]. Lim et al developed the Q-SHINE assay, in which a split glutaminebinding protein recombines with a split reporter protein that dimerizes upon binding of glutamine to produce a signal [31].…”

“…This has motivated efforts to develop alternative glutamine biosensors utilizing a variety of biochemical and analytical methods [31][32][33][34][35][36][37]. Lim et al developed the Q-SHINE assay, in which a split glutaminebinding protein recombines with a split reporter protein that dimerizes upon binding of glutamine to produce a signal [31]. This exciting study presents a unique and effective way to detect glutamine, though this is a relatively slow assay that requires several hours to obtain results, and the assay has not been demonstrated in a portable form.…”

“…Tanigawa et al harnessed cellular nutrient-response mechanisms to create an in vitro glutamine sensor, discovering novel protein-glutaminebinding interactions [36]. While these and other novel methods to detect glutamine [31][32][33][34][35][36][37] represent important progress in the field of glutamine sensing, no commercialized, portable glutamine tests are available. Thus, patients suffering from cancer and other diseases do not have laboratory equipment nor expertise to conduct frequent testing.…”