Spermine-NBD as fluorescent probe for studies of the polyamine transport system in Leishmania donovani

Abstract This study describes the synthesis of fluorescent probes as potential substrates for the polyamine transport system (PTS) of Leishmania donovani . A competitive radioassay was used to determine the most efficient probe. We observed that the conjugate spermine-nitrobenzofurazan (Spm-NBD) was able to compete with [ 3 H]-spermidine in L. donovani at a potent IC 50 of 60 µM.