Detection of Tumor-Associated Autoantibodies in the Sera of Pancreatic Cancer Patients Using Engineered MUC1 Glycopeptide Nanoparticle Probes

Pancreatic cancer is one of the deadliest cancers worldwide, mainly due to late diagnosis. Therefore, there is an urgent need for novel diagnostic approaches to identify the disease as early as possible. We have developed a diagnostic assay for pancreatic cancer based on the detection of naturally occurring tumor associated autoantibodies against Mucin-1 (MUC1) using engineered glycopeptides on nanoparticle probes. We used a structure-guided approach to develop unnatural glycopeptides as model antigens for tumor-associated MUC1. We designed a collection of 13 glycopeptides to bind either SM3 or 5E5, two monoclonal antibodies with distinct epitopes known to recognize tumor associated MUC1. Glycopeptide binding to SM3 or 5E5 was confirmed by surface plasmon resonance and rationalized by molecular dynamics simulations. These model antigens were conjugated to gold nanoparticles and used in a dot-blot assay to detect autoantibodies in serum samples from pancreatic cancer patients and healthy volunteers. Nanoparticle probes with glycopeptides displaying the SM3 epitope did not have diagnostic potential. Instead, nanoparticle probes displaying glycopeptides with high affinity for 5E5 could discriminate between cancer patients and healthy controls. Remarkably, the best-discriminating probes show significantly better true and false positive rates than the current clinical biomarkers CA19-9 and carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA).

Square-wave voltammetry assays for glycoproteins on nanoporous gold

Electrochemical enzyme-linked lectinsorbent assays (ELLA) were developed using nanoporous gold (NPG) as a solid support for protein immobilization and as an electrode for the electrochemical determination of the product of the reaction between alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and p-aminophenyl phosphate (p-APP), which is p-aminophenol (p-AP). Glycoproteins or concanavalin A (Con A) and ALP conjugates were covalently immobilized onto lipoic acid self-assembled monolayers on NPG. The binding of Con A - ALP (or soybean agglutinin - ALP) conjugate to glycoproteins covalently immobilized on NPG and subsequent incubation with p-APP substrate was found to result in square-wave voltammograms whose peak difference current varied with the identity of the glycoprotein. NPG presenting covalently bound glycoproteins was used as the basis for a competitive electrochemical assay for glycoproteins in solution (transferrin and IgG). A kinetic ELLA based on steric hindrance of the enzyme-substrate reaction and hence reduced enzymatic reaction rate after glycoprotein binding is demonstrated using immobilized Con A-ALP conjugates. Using the immobilized Con A-ALP conjugate, the binding affinity of immunoglobulin G (IgG) was found to be 105 nM, and that for transferrin was found to be 650 nM. Minimal interference was observed in the presence of 5 mg mL-1 BSA as a model serum protein in both the kinetic and competitive ELLA. Inhibition studies were performed with methyl D-mannoside for the binding of TSF and IgG to Con A-ALP; IC50 values were found to be 90 μM and 286 μM, respectively. Surface coverages of proteins were estimated using solution depletion and the BCA protein concentration assay.

Aptamer-based colorimetric sensing of acetamiprid in soil samples: sensitivity, selectivity and mechanism

A simple and selective aptamer-based colorimetric method was developed for highly sensitive detection of acetamiprid, taking advantages of the sensitive target-induced colour changes that arisen from the interparticle plasmon coupling during the aggregation of Au nanoparticles (NPs). The results showed that the established method could be applied to detect acetamiprid in the linear range between 75 nM to 7.5 μM, with a low detection limit of 5 nM. Meanwhile, by employing an "artificial antibody" acetamiprid-binding aptamer (ABA) as recognition element, highly selective and specific colorimetric visualization of acetamiprid was obtained. It indicated that pesticides which may coexist with acetamiprid could not interfere with the detection of acetamiprid even that had similar structure with acetamiprid, such as imidacloprid and chlorpyrifos. Mechanism study suggested that it could be attributed to the specific supramolecular interaction between ABA and acetamiprid, as well as the resulted target-binding event induced conformation changes of ABA from random coil to hairpin structure. The practical application of the colorimetric method was realized for detecting acetamiprid in real soil samples and monitoring its natural degradation process.