4-Methylumbelliferyl-β-D-glucopyranoside (CAS 18997-57-4)

4-Methylumbelliferyl-β-D-glucopyranoside (4-MU-beta-D-Glc) is a sensitive fluorogenic substrate for beta-glucosidase and β-glucocerebrosidase (also known as glucosylceramidase) yielding a blue fluorescent solution. It is employed in the detection of beta-glucosidase as an indicator of Enterococci. 4-Methylumbelliferyl-β-D-glucopyranoside has been extensively used in work on Gaucher′s disease, a lipid storage disease characterized by the accumulation of glucocerebroside due to a genetic deficiency of a β-glucosidase, glucosylceramidase. A test for Gaucher′s disease, has been reported whereby 4-Methylumbelliferyl-β-D-glucopyranoside is hydrolyzed by glucosylceramidase in the presence of sodium taurocholate, which suppresses the activity of other β-glucosidases. Hydrolysis of 4-Methylumbelliferyl-β-D-glucopyranoside releases the fluorescent product 4-MU, which has an emission maximum at 445-454 nm. The excitation maximum for 4-MU is pH-dependent: 330, 370, and 385 nm at pH 4.6, 7.4, and 10.4, respectively. 4-Methylumbelliferyl-β-D-glucopyranoside and other fluorogenic substrates have been used to compare normal acid hydrolase activity with that of patients with various forms of mucopolysaccharidoses and in a study of four acid hydrolases in human kidney and urine. The use of 4-Methylumbelliferyl-β-D-glucopyranoside has also been reported in a rapid method for identifying bacterial enzymes.