biosensors Review Spectrophotometric Assays for Sensing Tyrosinase Activity and Their Applications Yu-Fan Fan 1,†, Si-Xing Zhu 2,†, Fan-Bin Hou 1, Dong-Fang Zhao 1, Qiu-Sha Pan 1, Yan-Wei Xiang 3, Xing-Kai Qian 1, Guang-Bo Ge 1 and Ping Wang 1,* 1 Shanghai Frontiers Science Center for Chinese Medicine Chemical Biology, Institute of Interdisciplinary Integrative Medicine Research, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shangha 201203, China;
[email protected] (Y.-F.F.);
[email protected] (F.-B.H.);
[email protected] (D.-F.Z.);
[email protected] (Q.-S.P.);
[email protected] (X.-K.Q.);
[email protected] (G.-B.G.) 2 Institute of Science, Technology and Humanities, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai 201203, China;
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[email protected] † These authors contributed equally to this work. Abstract: Tyrosinase (TYR, E.C. 1.14.18.1), a critical enzyme participating in melanogenesis, catalyzes the first two steps in melanin biosynthesis including the ortho-hydroxylation of L-tyrosine and the oxidation of L-DOPA. Previous pharmacological investigations have revealed that an abnormal level of TYR is tightly associated with various dermatoses, including albinism, age spots, and malignant melanoma. TYR inhibitors can partially block the formation of pigment, which are always used for improving skin tone and treating dermatoses. The practical and reliable assays for monitoring TYR activity levels are very useful for both disease diagnosis and drug discovery. This review comprehensively summarizes structural and enzymatic characteristics, catalytic mechanism and Citation: Fan, Y.-F.; Zhu, S.-X.; Hou, substrate preference of TYR, as well as the recent advances in biochemical assays for sensing TYR F.-B.; Zhao, D.-F.; Pan, Q.-S.; Xiang, activity and their biomedical applications.