4-Methylumbelliferyl dodecanoate

4-Methylumbelliferyl dodecanoate (4MUF) is a fluorescent probe that is used for the detection of disulfide bonds in proteins. 4-MUF is an analog of 4-methylumbelliferone, which can be synthesized from heptanal and ethylene diamine. The ph optimum of 4-MUF ranges from 7 to 9 and its protease activity is inhibited by soybean trypsin. It binds to the termini of DNA and RNA, as well as to proteins. This compound has been used in plant physiology studies because it can be easily detected with green light at a wavelength that does not affect photosynthesis. 4-MUF has also been used for the study of human pathogens such as E coli and Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium, which have shown sensitivity to this compound. In these studies, the binding affinity was determined by measuring fluorescence intensity with a fluorimeter or spect