Detecting ligand–protein interactions inside cells using reactive peptide tags and split luciferase

Abstract

We report a method for detecting ligand–protein interactions occurring within cells using short peptide reactive tags appended to ligands and proteins, along with a split NanoLuc luciferase. This method can be applied to estimate the binding affinities of ligand–protein interactions and to detect the interactions of proteins with unstable synthetic ligands inside the cells.