New immobilization method for immunoaffinity biosensors by using thiolated proteins

Effect of Citrate- and Gold-Stabilized Superparamagnetic Iron Oxide Nanoparticles on Head and Neck Tumor Cell Lines during Combination Therapy with Ionizing Radiation

Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is the sixth most common cancer worldwide. They are associated with alcohol and tobacco consumption, as well as infection with human papillomaviruses (HPV). Therapeutic options include radiochemotherapy, surgery or chemotherapy. Nanoparticles are becoming more and more important in medicine. They can be used diagnostically, but also therapeutically. In order to provide therapeutic alternatives in the treatment of HNSCC, the effect of citrate-coated superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (Citrate-SPIONs) and gold-coated superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (Au-SPIONs) in combination with ionizing irradiation (IR) on two HPV positive and two HPV negative HNSCC and healthy fibroblasts and keratinocytes cell lines were tested. Effects on apoptosis and necrosis were analyzed by using flow cytometry. Cell survival studies were performed with a colony formation assay. To better understand where the SPIONs interact, light microscopy images and immunofluorescence studies were performed. The HNSCC and healthy cell lines showed different responses to the investigated SPIONs. The cytotoxic effects of SPIONs, in combination with IR, are dependent on the type of SPIONs, the dose administered and the cell type treated. They are independent of HPV status. Reasons for the different cytotoxic effect are probably the different compositions of the SPIONs and the related different interaction of the SPIONs intracellularly and paramembranously, which lead to different strong formations of double strand breaks.

Surface Display Technology for Biosensor Applications: A Review

Surface display is a recombinant technology that expresses target proteins on cell membranes and can be applied to almost all types of biological entities from viruses to mammalian cells. This technique has been used for various biotechnical and biomedical applications such as drug screening, biocatalysts, library screening, quantitative assays, and biosensors. In this review, the use of surface display technology in biosensor applications is discussed. In detail, phage display, bacterial surface display of Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria, and eukaryotic yeast cell surface display systems are presented. The review describes the advantages of surface display systems for biosensor applications and summarizes the applications of surface displays to biosensors.

A New Method for Immobilization of His-Tagged Proteins with the Application of Low-Frequency AC Electric Field

Continued advancement of protein array, bioelectrode, and biosensor technologies is necessary to develop methods for higher amount and highly oriented immobilization activity of proteins. In pursuit of these goals, we developed a new immobilization method by combining electrostatic transport and subsequent molecular diffusion of protein molecules. Our developed immobilization method is based on a model that transports proteins toward the substrate surface due to steep concentration gradient generated by low-frequency AC electric field. The immobilization of the maximum amounts can be obtained by the application of the AC voltage of 80 Vpp, 20 Hz both for His-tagged Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP) and Discosoma sp. Red Fluorescent Protein (DsRed), used as model proteins. The amounts of the immobilized His-tagged GFP and DsRed were approximately seven-fold higher than that in the absence of the application of low-frequency AC electric field. Furthermore, the positively and negatively charged His-tagged GFP at acidic and alkaline pH were immobilized by applying of low-frequency AC electric field, whereas the non-charged His-tagged GFP at the pH corresponding to its isoelectric point (pI) was not immobilized. Therefore, unless the pH is equal to pI, the immobilization of electrically charged proteins was strongly enhanced through electrostatic transport and subsequent molecular diffusion.

Chronoamperometry-Based Redox Cycling for Application to Immunoassays

In this work, the chronoamperometry-based redox cycling of 3,3',5,5'-tetramethylbenzidine (TMB) was performed by using interdigitated electrode (IDE). The signal was obtained from two sequential chronoamperometric profiles: (1) with the generator at the oxidative potential of TMB and the collector at the reductive potential of TMB, and (2) with the generator at the reductive potential of TMB and the collector at the oxidative potential of TMB. The chronoamperometry-based redox cycling (dual mode) showed a sensitivity of 1.49 μA/OD, and the redox cycling efficiency was estimated to be 94% (n = 10). The sensitivities of conventional redox cycling with the same interdigitated electrode and chronoamperometry using a single working electrode (single mode) were estimated to be 0.67 μA/OD and 0.18 μA/OD, respectively. These results showed that the chronoamperometry-based redox cycling (dual mode) could be more effectively used to quantify the oxidized TMB than other amperometric methods. The chronoamperometry-based redox cycling (dual mode) was applied to immunoassays using a commercial ELISA kit for medical diagnosis of the human hepatitis B virus surface antigen (hHBsAg). Finally, the chronoamperometry-based redox cycling (dual mode) provided more than a 10-fold higher sensitivity than conventional chronoamperometry using a single working electrode (single mode) when applied to a commercial ELISA kit for medical diagnosis of hHBsAg.

Electrical dual-sensing method for real-time quantitative monitoring of cell-secreted MMP-9 and cellular morphology during migration process

MMP-9 (92 kDa gelatinease), which is member of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) family, plays a crucial role in the breakdown of extracellular matrix (ECM) by degrading the major components of ECM that lead to tumor cell invasion and metastasis through the basement membrane. Our study presents the on-chip dual-sensing device for rapid detection of cell-secreted MMP-9 and corresponding cell morphology changes in real-time domain. The device consists of 2 sensing platforms (both are interdigitated array microelectrodes - IDAMs) within 1 common fluidic chamber: one detects the cell morphology responses via Electric Cell-substrate Impedance Sensing (ECIS) technique, meanwhile the other records the cleavage effect between cell-secreted MMP-9 and the surface immobilized peptide via the capacitance-based sensing method. Thanks to the selectivity of designed peptide, this approach allows the rapid and specific detection of MMP-9. In comparison with gold standard ELISA assay, the detection time was significantly reduced from over 4h to within 30 min with the wide detection range from 10 pM to 10nM. Finally, this study provides the novel model for MMP-9 protease direct detection from living cell and new insights in multi-purpose detection of cancer associated enzyme and cell migration behavior.

Cancer prognostics by direct detection of p53-antibodies on gold surfaces by impedance measurements

The identification and measurement of biomarkers is critical to a broad range of methods that diagnose and monitor many diseases. Serum auto-antibodies are rapidly becoming interesting targets because of their biological and medical relevance. This paper describes a highly sensitive, label-free approach for the detection of p53-antibodies, a prognostic indicator in ovarian cancer as well as a biomarker in the early stages of other cancers. This approach uses impedance measurements on gold microelectrodes to measure antibody concentrations at the picomolar level in undiluted serum samples. The biosensor shows high selectivity as a result of the optimization of the epitopes responsible for the detection of p53-antibodies and was validated by several techniques including microcontact printing, self-assembled-monolayer desorption ionization (SAMDI) mass spectrometry, and adhesion pull-off force by atomic force microscopy (AFM). This transduction method will lead to fast and accurate diagnostic tools for the early detection of cancer and other diseases.

Determination of the surface pK of carboxylic- and amine-terminated alkanethiols using surface plasmon resonance spectroscopy

When using self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) with ionizable functional groups, such as COOH and NH2, the dissociation constant (pKd) of the surface is an important property to know, since it defines the charge density of the surface for a given bulk solution pH. In this study, we developed a method using surface plasmon resonance (SPR) spectroscopy for the direct measurement of the pKd of a SAM surface by combining the ability of SPR to detect the change in mass concentration close to a surface and the shift in ion concentration over the surface as a function of surface charge density. This method was then applied to measure the pKd values of both COOH- and NH2-functionalized SAM surfaces using solutions of CsCl and NaBr salts, respectively, which provided pKd values of 7.4 and 6.5, respectively, based on the bulk solution pH. An analytical study was also performed to theoretically predict the shape of the SPR plots by calculating the excess mass of salt ions over a surface as a function of the difference between the solution pH and surface pKd. The analytical relationships show that the state of surface charge also influences the local hydrogen ion concentration, thus resulting in a substantial local shift in pH at the surface compared to the bulk solution as a function of the difference between the bulk solution pH and the pKd of the surface.

CANTILEVER BIOSENSORS

This chapter describes the application of nano- and micro-electromechanical systems (NEMs and MEMs), and more specifically microcantilever structures, as transducers for highly sensitive biosensors. In these devices, named as ‘nanomechanical biosensors,’ a biomolecular interaction produces a change in the mechanical behavior of the transducer (a movement at nanometer scale), which can be measured and analyzed in real time. Microcantilevers translate the molecular recognition of biomolecules into a nanomechanical motion that is commonly coupled to an optical read-out system. This chapter discusses the main aspects regarding the physics of microcantilever as well the optical read-out techniques. It reviews the state-of-the-art, and discusses the prospective future directions of this new family of biosensors. Nanomechanical sensors are derived from the microfabricated cantilevers used in atomic force microscopy (AFM) and are based on the bending or resonance change induced in the cantilever when a biomolecular interaction takes place on one of its surfaces. The cantilever response depends on its mechanical properties, which are determined mainly by their spring constant and resonance frequency. Both parameters depend on the cantilever material and its geometry. The increasing number of applications of microcantilevers as biosensors has established these systems as a versatile platform for real-time and in situmeasurements of physical, chemical, and biochemical interactions. Further research is banked upon to provide information for increasing the biosensor sensitivity.

Label-Free Impedance Biosensors: Opportunities and Challenges

Impedance biosensors are a class of electrical biosensors that show promise for point-of-care and other applications due to low cost, ease of miniaturization, and label-free operation. Unlabeled DNA and protein targets can be detected by monitoring changes in surface impedance when a target molecule binds to an immobilized probe. The affinity capture step leads to challenges shared by all label-free affinity biosensors; these challenges are discussed along with others unique to impedance readout. Various possible mechanisms for impedance change upon target binding are discussed. We critically summarize accomplishments of past label-free impedance biosensors and identify areas for future research.

Surface plasmon resonance immunosensor for human cardiac troponin T based on self-assembled monolayer

The cardiac troponin T (cTnT) is specific biomarker important for trials of acute myocardial infarctions (AMI). In this paper, a SPR sensor in real time to detect the biomarker was developed on a commercially available surface plasmon resonance AUTOLAB SPIRIT. The cTnT receptor molecule was covalently immobilized on a gold substrate via a self-assembled monolayer (SAM) of thiols by using cysteamine-coupling chemistry. This biosensor presented a linear response range for cTnT between 0.05 and 4.5 ng/mL (r=0.997, p<<0.01) with a good reproducibility (CV=4.4%). The effect of the cysteamine (CYS) concentrations on the SAM coated gold sensor was studied as a function of the amount of the immobilized cTnT monoclonal antibodies. Analysis using serum samples undiluted was carried out at room temperature showing a well agreement with the ECLIA methods and the sensor surface could be regenerated by using a solution of 1% (w/v) sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS) without losing the sensor immunoreactivity. These studies open new perspectives of using SAM to develop regenerable immunosensor with a good reproducibility allowing its use in the clinical applications.

Application of electrochemical impedance spectroscopy for monitoring allergen–antibody reactions using gold nanoparticle-based biomolecular immobilization method

Gold nanoparticles were used to enhance the immobilization amount and retain the immunoactivity of recombinant dust mite allergen Der f2 immobilized on a glassy carbon electrode (GCE). The interaction between allergen and antibody was studied by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). Self-assembled Au colloid layer (ø=16nm) deposited on (3-mercaptopropyl)trimethoxysilane (MPTS)-modified GCE offered a basis to control the immobilization of allergen Der f2. The impedance measurements were based on the charge transfer kinetics of the [Fe(CN)(6)](3-/4-) redox pair, compared with bare GCE, the immobilization of allergen Der f2 and the allergen-antibody interaction that occurred on the electrode surface altered the interfacial electron transfer resistance and thereby slowed down the charge transfer kinetics by reducing the active area of the electrode or by preventing the redox species in electrolyte solution from approaching the electrode. The interactions of allergen with various concentrations of monoclonal antibody were also monitored through the change of impedance response. The results showed that the electron transfer resistance increased with increasing concentrations of monoclonal antibody.

Survey of the year 2005 commercial optical biosensor literature

We identified 1113 articles (103 reviews, 1010 primary research articles) published in 2005 that describe experiments performed using commercially available optical biosensors. While this number of publications is impressive, we find that the quality of the biosensor work in these articles is often pretty poor. It is a little disappointing that there appears to be only a small set of researchers who know how to properly perform, analyze, and present biosensor data. To help focus the field, we spotlight work published by 10 research groups that exemplify the quality of data one should expect to see from a biosensor experiment. Also, in an effort to raise awareness of the common problems in the biosensor field, we provide side-by-side examples of good and bad data sets from the 2005 literature.