A Single and a Dual-Fractal Analysis of Analyte-Receptor Binding Kinetics for Surface Plasmon Resonance Biosensor Applications

A strategy for chemical sensing based on frequency tunable acoustic devices

A new acoustic sensor geometry, the magnetic acoustic resonant sensor (MARS), is described. The device comprises a circular 0.5-mm-thick resonant plate fabricated from a wide variety of nonpiezoelectric materials and coated on the underside with a 2.5-microm-thick aluminum film. Harmonic radial shear waves over at least a 2 orders of magnitude frequency range can be induced in the resonant plate by enhanced magnetic direct generation using a noncontacting rf coil and NdFeB magnet. Mass loading with adherent aluminum films produced frequency changes of 106 Hz/nm (40.8 Hz/ng-mm(-2)), while contact with viscous fluids resulted in maximum changes of 15 446 Hz/cP. At an operating frequency of 50 MHz, the device detected viscosity changes as low as 0.0006 cP. The adsorption of proteins such as human IgG and the binding of a complementary antigen, goat anti-human IgG, on the upper nonmetallized surface of the device has been monitored with a detection limit of approximately 75 ng/mL. The binding of substrates and allosteric effectors to glycogen phosphorylase b has provided evidence that the device is very sensitive to viscoelastic changes in adsorbed proteins. The MARS device generates radial shear acoustic waves over a broad bandwidth that are unaffected by the conductivity of the solution. These results suggest that simple metal, glass, crystalline, or polycrystalline plates can be used as a new type of tunable acoustic immunosensor.

A Predictive Approach Using Fractal Analysis for Analyte-Receptor Binding and Dissociation Kinetics for Surface Plasmon Resonance Biosensor Applications

A predictive approach using fractal analysis is presented for analyte-receptor binding and dissociation kinetics for biosensor applications. Data taken from the literature may be modeled, in the case of binding using a single-fractal analysis or a dual-fractal analysis. The dual-fractal analysis represents a change in the binding mechanism as the reaction progresses on the surface. A single-fractal analysis is adequate to model the dissociation kinetics in the examples presented. Predictive relationships developed for the binding and the affinity (k(diss)/k(bind)) as a function of the analyte concentration are of particular value since they provide a means by which the binding and the affinity rate coefficients may be manipulated. Relationships are also presented for the binding and the dissociation rate coefficients and for the affinity as a function of their corresponding fractal dimension, D(f), or the degree of heterogeneity that exists on the surface. When analyte-receptor binding or dissociation is involved, an increase in the heterogeneity on the surface (increase in D(f)) leads to an increase in the binding and in the dissociation rate coefficient. It is suggested that an increase in the degree of heterogeneity on the surface leads to an increase in the turbulence on the surface owing to the irregularities on the surface. This turbulence promotes mixing, minimizes diffusional limitations, and leads subsequently to an increase in the binding and in the dissociation rate coefficient. The binding and the dissociation rate coefficients are rather sensitive to the degree of heterogeneity, D(f,bind) (or D(f1)) and D(f,diss), respectively, that exists on the biosensor surface. For example, the order of dependence on D(f,bind) (or D(f1)) and D(f2) is 6.69 and 6.96 for k(bind,1) (or k(1)) and k(2), respectively, for the binding of 0.085 to 0.339 µM Fab fragment 48G7(L)48G7(H) in solution to p-nitrophenyl phosphonate (PNP) transition state analogue immobilized on a surface plasmon resonance (SPR) biosensor. The order of dependence on D(f,diss) (or D(f,d)) is 3.26 for the dissociation rate coefficient, k(diss), for the dissociation of the 48G7(L)48G7(H)-PNP complex from the SPR surface to the solution. The predictive relationships presented for the binding and the affinity as a function of the analyte concentration in solution provide further physical insights into the reactions on the surface and should assist in enhancing SPR biosensor performance. In general, the technique is applicable to other reactions occurring on different types of biosensor surfaces and other surfaces such as cell-surface reactions. Copyright 2000 Academic Press.