Rational Molecular Design of a Fluorescent Probe for Selectively Sensing Human Cytochrome P450 2D6

Abstract Cytochrome P450 2D6 (CYP2D6) is a key enzyme that mediates the metabolism of various drugs and endogenous substances in humans. However, its biological role in drug‐drug interactions especially mechanism‐based inactivation (MBI), and various diseases remains poorly understood, owing to the lack of molecular tools suitable for selectively monitoring CYP2D6 in complex biological systems. Herein, using a tailored molecular strategy, we developed a fluorescent probe BDPM for CYP2D6. BDPM exhibits excellent specificity and imaging capability for CYP2D6, making it suitable for the real‐time monitoring of endogenous CYP2D6 activity in living bio‐samples. Therefore, our tailored strategy proved useful for constructing the highly selective and enzyme‐activated fluorescent probes. BDPM as a molecular tool to explore the critical roles of CYP2D6 in the pathogenesis of diseases, high‐throughput screening of inhibitors and intensive investigation of CYP2D6‐induced MBI in natural systems.