The design and development of glucose probes for sensing and imaging within biological systems

Hao Wang; Chunfang Li; Fangyuan Zhang; Benjamin Kersch-Hunt; Jordan E. Gardiner; Lijuan Ren; Ying Li; Simon E. Lewis; Yanling Mu; Qingqiang Yao; Luling Wu; Robin R. Groleau; Wenhao Zhai; Zhen Liu; Tony D. James; Eric V. Anslyn; Kai Wang

doi:10.1039/d3cs00795b

The design and development of glucose probes for sensing and imaging within biological systems

Hao Wang, Chunfang Li, Fangyuan Zhang, Benjamin Kersch-Hunt, Jordan E. Gardiner, Lijuan Ren, Ying Li, Simon E. Lewis, Yanling Mu, Qingqiang Yao, Luling Wu, Robin R. Groleau, Wenhao Zhai, Zhen Liu, Tony D. James, Eric V. Anslyn, Kai Wang

Research output: Contribution to journal › Review article › peer-review

Abstract

Glucose and glucose homeostasis are central to the regulation of biological processes, and the development of probes for glucose sensing and imaging in biological systems has long been of significant interest to the biological and chemical sciences community. The resulting body of literature is therefore vast, and this review aims to outline major contributions and approaches to provide insight into these probes’ working mechanisms with the aim of fostering the development of new glucose-sensing systems. This review summarizes advances in the design of glucose probes for biological sensing, and discusses the design principles behind seminal and more recent glucose probes, covering glucose analogue-based tracers, enzyme-based probes, fluorescent protein-based probes, lectin-based probes, and boronic acid-based glucose probes. Throughout, design principles will be emphasized and limitations and challenges of the existing landscape will be discussed, highlighting future opportunities and potential research directions.

Original language	English
Journal	Chemical Society Reviews
Early online date	14 Apr 2026
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1039/d3cs00795b
Publication status	E-pub ahead of print - 14 Apr 2026

Data Availability Statement

No new data were created or analysed in this study.

Acknowledgements

H. W. wishes to thank the Jining Medical University and Shandong First Medical University. H. W. wishes to thank the Shandong Provincial Natural Science Foundation (ZR2023QB084) for support. W. H. Z. wishes to thank the Medical Sci-Tech Research Center of Ningxia Medical University and Shandong First Medical University. W. H. Z. wishes to thank the Natural Science Foundation of Ningxia Province, China (Grant No. 2023AAC05030) for support. K. W. wishes to thank the Shandong First Medical University and the University of Bath. K. W. wishes to thank the Shandong Provincial Natural Science Foundation (ZR2023QB181) for support. L. W. acknowledges support as a “Tang Scholar” (Nanjing University). S. E. L. thanks EPSRC for funding (EP/W036193/1). T. D. J. wishes to thank the University of Bath and the Open Research Fund of the School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Henan Normal University (2020ZD01) for support.

Funding

S. E. L. thanks EPSRC for funding (EP/W036193/1)

ASJC Scopus subject areas

General Chemistry

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10.1039/d3cs00795bLicence: CC BY

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Wang, H., Li, C., Zhang, F., Kersch-Hunt, B., Gardiner, J. E., Ren, L., Li, Y., Lewis, S. E., Mu, Y., Yao, Q., Wu, L., Groleau, R. R., Zhai, W., Liu, Z., James, T. D., Anslyn, E. V., & Wang, K. (2026). The design and development of glucose probes for sensing and imaging within biological systems. Chemical Society Reviews. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1039/d3cs00795b

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title = "The design and development of glucose probes for sensing and imaging within biological systems",

abstract = "Glucose and glucose homeostasis are central to the regulation of biological processes, and the development of probes for glucose sensing and imaging in biological systems has long been of significant interest to the biological and chemical sciences community. The resulting body of literature is therefore vast, and this review aims to outline major contributions and approaches to provide insight into these probes{\textquoteright} working mechanisms with the aim of fostering the development of new glucose-sensing systems. This review summarizes advances in the design of glucose probes for biological sensing, and discusses the design principles behind seminal and more recent glucose probes, covering glucose analogue-based tracers, enzyme-based probes, fluorescent protein-based probes, lectin-based probes, and boronic acid-based glucose probes. Throughout, design principles will be emphasized and limitations and challenges of the existing landscape will be discussed, highlighting future opportunities and potential research directions.",

author = "Hao Wang and Chunfang Li and Fangyuan Zhang and Benjamin Kersch-Hunt and Gardiner, \{Jordan E.\} and Lijuan Ren and Ying Li and Lewis, \{Simon E.\} and Yanling Mu and Qingqiang Yao and Luling Wu and Groleau, \{Robin R.\} and Wenhao Zhai and Zhen Liu and James, \{Tony D.\} and Anslyn, \{Eric V.\} and Kai Wang",

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AU - Ren, Lijuan

AU - Li, Ying

AU - Lewis, Simon E.

AU - Mu, Yanling

AU - Yao, Qingqiang

AU - Wu, Luling

AU - Groleau, Robin R.

AU - Zhai, Wenhao

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AU - James, Tony D.

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AB - Glucose and glucose homeostasis are central to the regulation of biological processes, and the development of probes for glucose sensing and imaging in biological systems has long been of significant interest to the biological and chemical sciences community. The resulting body of literature is therefore vast, and this review aims to outline major contributions and approaches to provide insight into these probes’ working mechanisms with the aim of fostering the development of new glucose-sensing systems. This review summarizes advances in the design of glucose probes for biological sensing, and discusses the design principles behind seminal and more recent glucose probes, covering glucose analogue-based tracers, enzyme-based probes, fluorescent protein-based probes, lectin-based probes, and boronic acid-based glucose probes. Throughout, design principles will be emphasized and limitations and challenges of the existing landscape will be discussed, highlighting future opportunities and potential research directions.

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The design and development of glucose probes for sensing and imaging within biological systems

Abstract

Data Availability Statement

Acknowledgements

Funding

ASJC Scopus subject areas

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