1
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Voorspoels A, Gevers J, Santermans S, Akkan N, Martens K, Willems K, Van Dorpe P, Verhulst AS. Design Principles of DNA-Barcodes for Nanopore-FET Readout, Based on Molecular Dynamics and TCAD Simulations. J Phys Chem A 2024. [PMID: 38712508 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpca.4c01772] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/08/2024]
Abstract
Nanopore field-effect transistor (NP-FET) devices hold great promise as sensitive single-molecule sensors, which provide CMOS-based on-chip readout and are also highly amenable to parallelization. A plethora of applications will therefore benefit from NP-FET technology, such as large-scale molecular analysis (e.g., proteomics). Due to its potential for parallelization, the NP-FET looks particularly well-suited for the high-throughput readout of DNA-based barcodes. However, to date, no study exists that unravels the bit-rate capabilities of NP-FET devices. In this paper, we design DNA-based barcodes by labeling a piece of double-stranded DNA with dumbbell-like DNA structures. We explore the impact of both the size of the dumbbells and their spacing on achievable bit-rates. The conformational fluctuations of this DNA-origami, as observed by molecular dynamics (MD) simulation, are accounted for when selecting label sizes. An experimentally informed 3D continuum nanofluidic-nanoelectronic device model subsequently predicts both the ionic current and FET signals. We present a barcode design for a conceptually generic NP-FET, with a 14 nm diameter pore, operating in conditions corresponding to experiments. By adjusting the spacing between the labels to half the length of the pore, we show that a bit-rate of 78 kbit·s-1 is achievable. This lies well beyond the state-of-the-art of ≈40 kbit·s-1, with significant headroom for further optimizations. We also highlight the advantages of NP-FET readout based on the larger signal size and sinusoidal signal shape.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aderik Voorspoels
- Imec, Kapeldreef 75, B-3001 Leuven, Belgium
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, KU Leuven, Celestijnenlaan 200D, B-3001 Leuven, Belgium
| | - Juliette Gevers
- Imec, Kapeldreef 75, B-3001 Leuven, Belgium
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, KU Leuven, Celestijnenlaan 200D, B-3001 Leuven, Belgium
| | | | - Nihat Akkan
- Imec, Kapeldreef 75, B-3001 Leuven, Belgium
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, KU Leuven, Celestijnenlaan 200D, B-3001 Leuven, Belgium
| | - Koen Martens
- Imec, Kapeldreef 75, B-3001 Leuven, Belgium
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, KU Leuven, Celestijnenlaan 200D, B-3001 Leuven, Belgium
| | | | - Pol Van Dorpe
- Imec, Kapeldreef 75, B-3001 Leuven, Belgium
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, KU Leuven, Celestijnenlaan 200D, B-3001 Leuven, Belgium
| | - Anne S Verhulst
- Imec, Kapeldreef 75, B-3001 Leuven, Belgium
- Department of Electrical Engineering (ESAT), KU Leuven, Kasteelpark Arenberg 10, B-3001 Leuven, Belgium
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2
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Ju H, Cheng L, Li M, Mei K, He S, Jia C, Guo X. Single-Molecule Electrical Profiling of Peptides and Proteins. ADVANCED SCIENCE (WEINHEIM, BADEN-WURTTEMBERG, GERMANY) 2024:e2401877. [PMID: 38639403 DOI: 10.1002/advs.202401877] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/22/2024] [Revised: 04/03/2024] [Indexed: 04/20/2024]
Abstract
In recent decades, there has been a significant increase in the application of single-molecule electrical analysis platforms in studying proteins and peptides. These advanced analysis methods have the potential for deep investigation of enzymatic working mechanisms and accurate monitoring of dynamic changes in protein configurations, which are often challenging to achieve in ensemble measurements. In this work, the prominent research progress in peptide and protein-related studies are surveyed using electronic devices with single-molecule/single-event sensitivity, including single-molecule junctions, single-molecule field-effect transistors, and nanopores. In particular, the successful commercial application of nanopores in DNA sequencing has made it one of the most promising techniques in protein sequencing at the single-molecule level. From single peptides to protein complexes, the correlation between their electrical characteristics, structures, and biological functions is gradually being established. This enables to distinguish different molecular configurations of these biomacromolecules through real-time electrical monitoring of their life activities, significantly improving the understanding of the mechanisms underlying various life processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hongyu Ju
- School of Pharmaceutical Science and Technology, Tianjin University, Tianjin, 300072, P. R. China
- Center of Single-Molecule Sciences, Institute of Modern Optics, Frontiers Science Center for New Organic Matter, Tianjin Key Laboratory of Microscale Optical Information Science and Technology, College of Electronic Information and Optical Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin, 300350, P. R. China
| | - Li Cheng
- Center of Single-Molecule Sciences, Institute of Modern Optics, Frontiers Science Center for New Organic Matter, Tianjin Key Laboratory of Microscale Optical Information Science and Technology, College of Electronic Information and Optical Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin, 300350, P. R. China
| | - Mengmeng Li
- Center of Single-Molecule Sciences, Institute of Modern Optics, Frontiers Science Center for New Organic Matter, Tianjin Key Laboratory of Microscale Optical Information Science and Technology, College of Electronic Information and Optical Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin, 300350, P. R. China
| | - Kunrong Mei
- School of Pharmaceutical Science and Technology, Tianjin University, Tianjin, 300072, P. R. China
| | - Suhang He
- Center of Single-Molecule Sciences, Institute of Modern Optics, Frontiers Science Center for New Organic Matter, Tianjin Key Laboratory of Microscale Optical Information Science and Technology, College of Electronic Information and Optical Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin, 300350, P. R. China
| | - Chuancheng Jia
- Center of Single-Molecule Sciences, Institute of Modern Optics, Frontiers Science Center for New Organic Matter, Tianjin Key Laboratory of Microscale Optical Information Science and Technology, College of Electronic Information and Optical Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin, 300350, P. R. China
| | - Xuefeng Guo
- Center of Single-Molecule Sciences, Institute of Modern Optics, Frontiers Science Center for New Organic Matter, Tianjin Key Laboratory of Microscale Optical Information Science and Technology, College of Electronic Information and Optical Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin, 300350, P. R. China
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, National Biomedical Imaging Center, College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, P. R. China
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3
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Nam K, Shao Y, Major DT, Wolf-Watz M. Perspectives on Computational Enzyme Modeling: From Mechanisms to Design and Drug Development. ACS OMEGA 2024; 9:7393-7412. [PMID: 38405524 PMCID: PMC10883025 DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.3c09084] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/14/2023] [Revised: 01/15/2024] [Accepted: 01/19/2024] [Indexed: 02/27/2024]
Abstract
Understanding enzyme mechanisms is essential for unraveling the complex molecular machinery of life. In this review, we survey the field of computational enzymology, highlighting key principles governing enzyme mechanisms and discussing ongoing challenges and promising advances. Over the years, computer simulations have become indispensable in the study of enzyme mechanisms, with the integration of experimental and computational exploration now established as a holistic approach to gain deep insights into enzymatic catalysis. Numerous studies have demonstrated the power of computer simulations in characterizing reaction pathways, transition states, substrate selectivity, product distribution, and dynamic conformational changes for various enzymes. Nevertheless, significant challenges remain in investigating the mechanisms of complex multistep reactions, large-scale conformational changes, and allosteric regulation. Beyond mechanistic studies, computational enzyme modeling has emerged as an essential tool for computer-aided enzyme design and the rational discovery of covalent drugs for targeted therapies. Overall, enzyme design/engineering and covalent drug development can greatly benefit from our understanding of the detailed mechanisms of enzymes, such as protein dynamics, entropy contributions, and allostery, as revealed by computational studies. Such a convergence of different research approaches is expected to continue, creating synergies in enzyme research. This review, by outlining the ever-expanding field of enzyme research, aims to provide guidance for future research directions and facilitate new developments in this important and evolving field.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kwangho Nam
- Department
of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University
of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, Texas 76019, United States
| | - Yihan Shao
- Department
of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University
of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma 73019-5251, United States
| | - Dan T. Major
- Department
of Chemistry and Institute for Nanotechnology & Advanced Materials, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan 52900, Israel
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4
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Jiang T, Zeng BF, Zhang B, Tang L. Single-molecular protein-based bioelectronics via electronic transport: fundamentals, devices and applications. Chem Soc Rev 2023; 52:5968-6002. [PMID: 37498342 DOI: 10.1039/d2cs00519k] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/28/2023]
Abstract
Biomolecular electronics is a rapidly growing multidisciplinary field that combines biology, nanoscience, and engineering to bridge the two important fields of life sciences and molecular electronics. Proteins are remarkable for their ability to recognize molecules and transport electrons, making the integration of proteins into electronic devices a long sought-after goal and leading to the emergence of the field of protein-based bioelectronics, also known as proteotronics. This field seeks to design and create new biomolecular electronic platforms that allow for the understanding and manipulation of protein-mediated electronic charge transport and related functional applications. In recent decades, there have been numerous reports on protein-based bioelectronics using a variety of nano-gapped electrical devices and techniques at the single molecular level, which are not achievable with conventional ensemble approaches. This review focuses on recent advances in physical electron transport mechanisms, device fabrication methodologies, and various applications in protein-based bioelectronics. We discuss the most recent progress of the single or few protein-bridged electrical junction fabrication strategies, summarise the work on fundamental and functional applications of protein bioelectronics that enable high and dynamic electron transport, and highlight future perspectives and challenges that still need to be addressed. We believe that this specific review will stimulate the interdisciplinary research of topics related to protein-related bioelectronics, and open up new possibilities for single-molecule biophysics and biomedicine.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tao Jiang
- State Key Laboratory of Modern Optical Instrumentation, College of Optical Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China.
| | - Biao-Feng Zeng
- State Key Laboratory of Modern Optical Instrumentation, College of Optical Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China.
| | - Bintian Zhang
- Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Precision Measurement and Early Warning Technology for Urban Environmental Health Risks, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen 518055, China.
| | - Longhua Tang
- State Key Laboratory of Modern Optical Instrumentation, College of Optical Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China.
- Institute of Quantum Sensing, Interdisciplinary Centre for Quantum Information, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China
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5
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Sun R, Lv J, Xue X, Yu S, Tan Z. Chemical Sensors using Single-Molecule Electrical Measurements. Chem Asian J 2023; 18:e202300181. [PMID: 37080926 DOI: 10.1002/asia.202300181] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2023] [Revised: 04/15/2023] [Accepted: 04/16/2023] [Indexed: 04/22/2023]
Abstract
Driven by the digitization and informatization of contemporary society, electrical sensors are developing toward minimal structure, intelligent function, and high detection resolution. Single-molecule electrical measurement techniques have been proven to be capable of label-free molecular recognition and detection, which opens a new strategy for the design of efficient single-molecule detection sensors. In this review, we outline the main advances and potentials of single-molecule electronics for qualitative identification and recognition assays at the single-molecule level. Strategies for single-molecule electro-sensing and its main applications are reviewed, mainly in the detection of ions, small molecules, oligomers, genetic materials, and proteins. This review summarizes the remaining challenges in the current development of single-molecule electrical sensing and presents some potential perspectives for this field.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ruiqin Sun
- College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Inner Mongolia University, Hohhot, 010021, P. R. China
| | - Jieyao Lv
- College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Inner Mongolia University, Hohhot, 010021, P. R. China
| | - Xinyi Xue
- College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Inner Mongolia University, Hohhot, 010021, P. R. China
| | - Shiyong Yu
- College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Inner Mongolia University, Hohhot, 010021, P. R. China
| | - Zhibing Tan
- College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Inner Mongolia University, Hohhot, 010021, P. R. China
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6
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Jiang T, Yi L, Liu X, Ivanov AP, Edel JB, Tang L. Fabrication of electron tunneling probes for measuring single-protein conductance. Nat Protoc 2023; 18:2579-2599. [PMID: 37420088 DOI: 10.1038/s41596-023-00846-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/09/2022] [Accepted: 04/21/2023] [Indexed: 07/09/2023]
Abstract
Studying the electrical properties of individual proteins is a prominent research area in the field of bioelectronics. Electron tunnelling or quantum mechanical tunnelling (QMT) probes can act as powerful tools for investigating the electrical properties of proteins. However, current fabrication methods for these probes often have limited reproducibility, unreliable contact or inadequate binding of proteins onto the electrodes, so better solutions are required. Here, we detail a generalizable and straightforward set of instructions for fabricating simple, nanopipette-based, tunnelling probes, suitable for measuring conductance in single proteins. Our QMT probe is based on a high-aspect-ratio dual-channel nanopipette that integrates a pair of gold tunneling electrodes with a gap of less than 5 nm, fabricated via the pyrolytic deposition of carbon followed by the electrochemical deposition of gold. The gold tunneling electrodes can be functionalized using an extensive library of available surface modifications to achieve single-protein-electrode contact. We use a biotinylated thiol modification, in which a biotin-streptavidin-biotin bridge is used to form the single-protein junction. The resulting protein-coupled QMT probes enable the stable electrical measurement of the same single protein in solution for up to several hours. We also describe the analysis method used to interpret time-dependent single-protein conductance measurements, which can provide essential information for understanding electron transport and exploring protein dynamics. The total time required to complete the protocol is ~33 h and it can be carried out by users trained in less than 24 h.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tao Jiang
- State Key Laboratory of Modern Optical Instrumentation, Institute of Quantum Sensing, Interdisciplinary Centre for Quantum Information, College of Optical Science and Engineering, International Research Center for Advanced Photonics, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Long Yi
- Department of Chemistry, Molecular Science Research Hub, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - Xu Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Modern Optical Instrumentation, Institute of Quantum Sensing, Interdisciplinary Centre for Quantum Information, College of Optical Science and Engineering, International Research Center for Advanced Photonics, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Aleksandar P Ivanov
- Department of Chemistry, Molecular Science Research Hub, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - Joshua B Edel
- Department of Chemistry, Molecular Science Research Hub, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - Longhua Tang
- State Key Laboratory of Modern Optical Instrumentation, Institute of Quantum Sensing, Interdisciplinary Centre for Quantum Information, College of Optical Science and Engineering, International Research Center for Advanced Photonics, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.
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7
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Li T, Bandari VK, Schmidt OG. Molecular Electronics: Creating and Bridging Molecular Junctions and Promoting Its Commercialization. ADVANCED MATERIALS (DEERFIELD BEACH, FLA.) 2023; 35:e2209088. [PMID: 36512432 DOI: 10.1002/adma.202209088] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/02/2022] [Revised: 11/28/2022] [Indexed: 06/02/2023]
Abstract
Molecular electronics is driven by the dream of expanding Moore's law to the molecular level for next-generation electronics through incorporating individual or ensemble molecules into electronic circuits. For nearly 50 years, numerous efforts have been made to explore the intrinsic properties of molecules and develop diverse fascinating molecular electronic devices with the desired functionalities. The flourishing of molecular electronics is inseparable from the development of various elegant methodologies for creating nanogap electrodes and bridging the nanogap with molecules. This review first focuses on the techniques for making lateral and vertical nanogap electrodes by breaking, narrowing, and fixed modes, and highlights their capabilities, applications, merits, and shortcomings. After summarizing the approaches of growing single molecules or molecular layers on the electrodes, the methods of constructing a complete molecular circuit are comprehensively grouped into three categories: 1) directly bridging one-molecule-electrode component with another electrode, 2) physically bridging two-molecule-electrode components, and 3) chemically bridging two-molecule-electrode components. Finally, the current state of molecular circuit integration and commercialization is discussed and perspectives are provided, hoping to encourage the community to accelerate the realization of fully scalable molecular electronics for a new era of integrated microsystems and applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tianming Li
- Research Center for Materials, Architectures and Integration of Nanomembranes (MAIN), Chemnitz University of Technology, 09126, Chemnitz, Germany
- Material Systems for Nanoelectronics, Chemnitz University of Technology, 09111, Chemnitz, Germany
| | - Vineeth Kumar Bandari
- Research Center for Materials, Architectures and Integration of Nanomembranes (MAIN), Chemnitz University of Technology, 09126, Chemnitz, Germany
- Material Systems for Nanoelectronics, Chemnitz University of Technology, 09111, Chemnitz, Germany
| | - Oliver G Schmidt
- Research Center for Materials, Architectures and Integration of Nanomembranes (MAIN), Chemnitz University of Technology, 09126, Chemnitz, Germany
- Material Systems for Nanoelectronics, Chemnitz University of Technology, 09111, Chemnitz, Germany
- Nanophysics, Dresden University of Technology, 01069, Dresden, Germany
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8
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Iyer V, Issadore DA, Aflatouni F. The next generation of hybrid microfluidic/integrated circuit chips: recent and upcoming advances in high-speed, high-throughput, and multifunctional lab-on-IC systems. LAB ON A CHIP 2023; 23:2553-2576. [PMID: 37114950 DOI: 10.1039/d2lc01163h] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/31/2023]
Abstract
Since the field's inception, pioneers in microfluidics have made significant progress towards realizing complete lab-on-chip systems capable of sophisticated sample analysis and processing. One avenue towards this goal has been to join forces with the related field of microelectronics, using integrated circuits (ICs) to perform on-chip actuation and sensing. While early demonstrations focused on using microfluidic-IC hybrid chips to miniaturize benchtop instruments, steady advancements in the field have enabled a new generation of devices that expand past miniaturization into high-performance applications that would not be possible without IC hybrid integration. In this review, we identify recent examples of labs-on-chip that use high-resolution, high-speed, and multifunctional electronic and photonic chips to expand the capabilities of conventional sample analysis. We focus on three particularly active areas: a) high-throughput integrated flow cytometers; b) large-scale microelectrode arrays for stimulation and multimodal sensing of cells over a wide field of view; c) high-speed biosensors for studying molecules with high temporal resolution. We also discuss recent advancements in IC technology, including on-chip data processing techniques and lens-free optics based on integrated photonics, that are poised to further advance microfluidic-IC hybrid chips.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vasant Iyer
- Department of Electrical and Systems Engineering, School of Engineering and Applied Science, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
| | - David A Issadore
- Department of Electrical and Systems Engineering, School of Engineering and Applied Science, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
- Department of Bioengineering, School of Engineering and Applied Science, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Firooz Aflatouni
- Department of Electrical and Systems Engineering, School of Engineering and Applied Science, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
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9
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Santermans S, Hellings G, Heyns M, Van Roy W, Martens K. Unraveling the impact of nano-scaling on silicon field-effect transistors for the detection of single-molecules. NANOSCALE 2023; 15:2354-2368. [PMID: 36644797 DOI: 10.1039/d2nr05267a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Electrolyte-gated silicon field-effect transistors (FETs) capable of detecting single molecules could enable high-throughput molecular sensing chips to advance, for example, genomics or proteomics. For solid-gated silicon FETs it is well-known that nano-scaled devices become sensitive to single elementary charges near the silicon-oxide interface. However, in electrolyte-gated FETs, electrolyte screening strongly reduces sensitivity to charges near the gate oxide. The question arises whether nano-scaling electrolyte-gated FETs can entail a sufficiently large signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) for the detection of single molecules. We enhanced a technology computer-aided design tool with electrolyte screening models to calculate the impact of the FET geometry on the single-molecule signal and FET noise. Our continuum FET model shows that a sufficiently large single-molecule SNR is only obtained when nano-scaling all FET channel dimensions. Moreover, we show that the expected scaling trend of the single-molecule SNR breaks down and no longer results in improvements for geometries approaching the decananometer size. This is the characteristic size of the FET channel region modulated by a typical molecule. For gate lengths below 50 nm, the overlap of the modulated region with the highly conductive junctions leads to saturation of the SNR. For cross-sections below 10-30 nm, SNR degrades due to the overlap of the modulated region with the convex FET corners where a larger local gate capacitance reduces charge sensitivity. In our study, assuming a commercial solid-state FET noise amplitude, we find that a suspended nanowire FET architecture with 35 nm length and 5 × 10 nm2 cross-section results in the highest SNR of about 10 for a 15-base DNA oligo in a 15 mM electrolyte. In contrast with typical silicon nanowire FET sensors which possess micron-scale gate lengths, we find it to be key that all channel dimensions are scaled down to the decananometer range.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sybren Santermans
- imec, Kapeldreef 75, 3001 Leuven, Belgium.
- Department of Materials Engineering, University of Leuven, Kasteelpark Arenberg 44, 3001 Leuven, Belgium
| | | | - Marc Heyns
- imec, Kapeldreef 75, 3001 Leuven, Belgium.
- Department of Materials Engineering, University of Leuven, Kasteelpark Arenberg 44, 3001 Leuven, Belgium
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10
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Jang SS, Dubnik S, Hon J, Hellenkamp B, Lynall DG, Shepard KL, Nuckolls C, Gonzalez RL. Characterizing the Conformational Free-Energy Landscape of RNA Stem-Loops Using Single-Molecule Field-Effect Transistors. J Am Chem Soc 2023; 145:402-412. [PMID: 36547391 PMCID: PMC10025942 DOI: 10.1021/jacs.2c10218] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
We have developed and used single-molecule field-effect transistors (smFETs) to characterize the conformational free-energy landscape of RNA stem-loops. Stem-loops are one of the most common RNA structural motifs and serve as building blocks for the formation of complex RNA structures. Given their prevalence and integral role in RNA folding, the kinetics of stem-loop (un)folding has been extensively characterized using both experimental and computational approaches. Interestingly, these studies have reported vastly disparate timescales of (un)folding, which has been interpreted as evidence that (un)folding of even simple stem-loops occurs on a highly rugged conformational energy landscape. Because smFETs do not rely on fluorophore reporters of conformation or mechanical (un)folding forces, they provide a unique approach that has allowed us to directly monitor tens of thousands of (un)folding events of individual stem-loops at a 200 μs time resolution. Our results show that under our experimental conditions, stem-loops (un)fold over a 1-200 ms timescale during which they transition between ensembles of unfolded and folded conformations, the latter of which is composed of at least two sub-populations. The 1-200 ms timescale of (un)folding we observe here indicates that smFETs report on complete (un)folding trajectories in which unfolded conformations of the RNA spend long periods of time wandering the free-energy landscape before sampling one of several misfolded conformations or the natively folded conformation. Our findings highlight the extremely rugged landscape on which even the simplest RNA structural elements fold and demonstrate that smFETs are a unique and powerful approach for characterizing the conformational free-energy of RNA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sukjin S. Jang
- Department of Chemistry, Columbia University, 3000 Broadway, New York, NY 10027, USA
| | - Sarah Dubnik
- Department of Chemistry, Columbia University, 3000 Broadway, New York, NY 10027, USA
| | - Jason Hon
- Department of Chemistry, Columbia University, 3000 Broadway, New York, NY 10027, USA
| | - Björn Hellenkamp
- Department of Electrical Engineering, Columbia University, 3000 Broadway, New York, 10027, USA
| | - David G. Lynall
- Department of Electrical Engineering, Columbia University, 3000 Broadway, New York, 10027, USA
| | - Kenneth L. Shepard
- Department of Electrical Engineering, Columbia University, 3000 Broadway, New York, 10027, USA
| | - Colin Nuckolls
- Department of Chemistry, Columbia University, 3000 Broadway, New York, NY 10027, USA
| | - Ruben L. Gonzalez
- Department of Chemistry, Columbia University, 3000 Broadway, New York, NY 10027, USA
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11
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Hall DA, Ananthapadmanabhan N, Choi C, Zheng L, Pan PP, Von Jutrzenka C, Nguyen T, Rizo J, Weinstein M, Lobaton R, Sinha P, Sauerbrey T, Sigala C, Bailey K, Mudondo PJ, Chaudhuri AR, Severi S, Fuller CW, Tour JM, Jin S, Mola PW, Merriman B. A Scalable CMOS Molecular Electronics Chip for Single-Molecule Biosensing. IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON BIOMEDICAL CIRCUITS AND SYSTEMS 2022; 16:1030-1043. [PMID: 36191107 DOI: 10.1109/tbcas.2022.3211420] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/04/2023]
Abstract
This work reports the first CMOS molecular electronics chip. It is configured as a biosensor, where the primary sensing element is a single molecule "molecular wire" consisting of a ∼100 GΩ, 25 nm long alpha-helical peptide integrated into a current monitoring circuit. The engineered peptide contains a central conjugation site for attachment of various probe molecules, such as DNA, proteins, enzymes, or antibodies, which program the biosensor to detect interactions with a specific target molecule. The current through the molecular wire under a dc applied voltage is monitored with millisecond temporal resolution. The detected signals are millisecond-scale, picoampere current pulses generated by each transient probe-target molecular interaction. Implemented in a 0.18 μm CMOS technology, 16k sensors are arrayed with a 20 μm pitch and read out at a 1 kHz frame rate. The resulting biosensor chip provides direct, real-time observation of the single-molecule interaction kinetics, unlike classical biosensors that measure ensemble averages of such events. This molecular electronics chip provides a platform for putting molecular biosensing "on-chip" to bring the power of semiconductor chips to diverse applications in biological research, diagnostics, sequencing, proteomics, drug discovery, and environmental monitoring.
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12
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Barnes B, Wang P, Wang Y. Parallel Field-Effect Nanosensors Detect Trace Biomarkers Rapidly at Physiological High-Ionic-Strength Conditions. ACS Sens 2022; 7:2537-2544. [PMID: 35700322 PMCID: PMC9509463 DOI: 10.1021/acssensors.2c00229] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/31/2023]
Abstract
Sensitivity and speed of detection are contradicting demands that profoundly impact the electrical sensing of molecular biomarkers. Although single-molecule sensitivity can now be achieved with single-nanotube field-effect transistors, these tiny sensors, with a diameter less than 1 nm, may take hours to days to capture the molecular target at trace concentrations. Here, we show that this sensitivity-speed challenge can be addressed using covalently functionalized double-wall CNTs that form many individualized, parallel pathways between two electrodes. Each carrier that travels across the electrodes is forced to take one of these pathways that are fully gated chemically by the target-probe binding events. This sensor design allows us to electrically detect Lyme disease oligonucleotide biomarkers directly at the physiological high-salt concentrations, simultaneously achieving both ultrahigh sensitivity (as low as 1 fM) and detection speed (<15 s). This unexpectedly simple strategy may open opportunities for sensor designs to broadly achieve instant detection of trace biomarkers and real-time probing of biomolecular functions directly at their physiological states.
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13
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Rahman M, Islam KR, Islam MR, Islam MJ, Kaysir MR, Akter M, Rahman MA, Alam SMM. A Critical Review on the Sensing, Control, and Manipulation of Single Molecules on Optofluidic Devices. MICROMACHINES 2022; 13:968. [PMID: 35744582 PMCID: PMC9229244 DOI: 10.3390/mi13060968] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/24/2022] [Revised: 05/19/2022] [Accepted: 05/23/2022] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Single-molecule techniques have shifted the paradigm of biological measurements from ensemble measurements to probing individual molecules and propelled a rapid revolution in related fields. Compared to ensemble measurements of biomolecules, single-molecule techniques provide a breadth of information with a high spatial and temporal resolution at the molecular level. Usually, optical and electrical methods are two commonly employed methods for probing single molecules, and some platforms even offer the integration of these two methods such as optofluidics. The recent spark in technological advancement and the tremendous leap in fabrication techniques, microfluidics, and integrated optofluidics are paving the way toward low cost, chip-scale, portable, and point-of-care diagnostic and single-molecule analysis tools. This review provides the fundamentals and overview of commonly employed single-molecule methods including optical methods, electrical methods, force-based methods, combinatorial integrated methods, etc. In most single-molecule experiments, the ability to manipulate and exercise precise control over individual molecules plays a vital role, which sometimes defines the capabilities and limits of the operation. This review discusses different manipulation techniques including sorting and trapping individual particles. An insight into the control of single molecules is provided that mainly discusses the recent development of electrical control over single molecules. Overall, this review is designed to provide the fundamentals and recent advancements in different single-molecule techniques and their applications, with a special focus on the detection, manipulation, and control of single molecules on chip-scale devices.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mahmudur Rahman
- Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Dhaka University of Engineering & Technology, Gazipur 1707, Bangladesh; (M.R.); (K.R.I.); (M.R.I.); (M.A.); (M.A.R.)
| | - Kazi Rafiqul Islam
- Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Dhaka University of Engineering & Technology, Gazipur 1707, Bangladesh; (M.R.); (K.R.I.); (M.R.I.); (M.A.); (M.A.R.)
| | - Md. Rashedul Islam
- Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Dhaka University of Engineering & Technology, Gazipur 1707, Bangladesh; (M.R.); (K.R.I.); (M.R.I.); (M.A.); (M.A.R.)
| | - Md. Jahirul Islam
- Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Khulna University of Engineering & Technology, Khulna 9203, Bangladesh;
| | - Md. Rejvi Kaysir
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Waterloo, 200 University Ave. W, Waterloo, ON N2L 3G1, Canada;
- Waterloo Institute for Nanotechnology, University of Waterloo, 200 University Ave. W, Waterloo, ON N2L 3G1, Canada
| | - Masuma Akter
- Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Dhaka University of Engineering & Technology, Gazipur 1707, Bangladesh; (M.R.); (K.R.I.); (M.R.I.); (M.A.); (M.A.R.)
| | - Md. Arifur Rahman
- Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Dhaka University of Engineering & Technology, Gazipur 1707, Bangladesh; (M.R.); (K.R.I.); (M.R.I.); (M.A.); (M.A.R.)
| | - S. M. Mahfuz Alam
- Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Dhaka University of Engineering & Technology, Gazipur 1707, Bangladesh; (M.R.); (K.R.I.); (M.R.I.); (M.A.); (M.A.R.)
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14
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Turvey MW, Gabriel KN, Lee W, Taulbee JJ, Kim JK, Chen S, Lau CJ, Kattan RE, Pham JT, Majumdar S, Garcia D, Weiss GA, Collins PG. Single-molecule Taq DNA polymerase dynamics. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2022; 8:eabl3522. [PMID: 35275726 PMCID: PMC8916733 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abl3522] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/08/2021] [Accepted: 01/21/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Taq DNA polymerase functions at elevated temperatures with fast conformational dynamics-regimes previously inaccessible to mechanistic, single-molecule studies. Here, single-walled carbon nanotube transistors recorded the motions of Taq molecules processing matched or mismatched template-deoxynucleotide triphosphate pairs from 22° to 85°C. By using four enzyme orientations, the whole-enzyme closures of nucleotide incorporations were distinguished from more rapid, 20-μs closures of Taq's fingers domain testing complementarity and orientation. On average, one transient closure was observed for every nucleotide binding event; even complementary substrate pairs averaged five transient closures between each catalytic incorporation at 72°C. The rate and duration of the transient closures and the catalytic events had almost no temperature dependence, leaving all of Taq's temperature sensitivity to its rate-determining open state.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mackenzie W. Turvey
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697-4575, USA
| | - Kristin N. Gabriel
- Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697-3900, USA
| | - Wonbae Lee
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697-4575, USA
| | - Jeffrey J. Taulbee
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697-4575, USA
| | - Joshua K. Kim
- Department of Chemistry, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697-2025, USA
| | - Silu Chen
- Department of Chemistry, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697-2025, USA
| | - Calvin J. Lau
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697-4575, USA
| | - Rebecca E. Kattan
- Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697-3900, USA
| | - Jenifer T. Pham
- Department of Chemistry, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697-2025, USA
| | - Sudipta Majumdar
- Department of Chemistry, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697-2025, USA
| | | | - Gregory A. Weiss
- Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697-3900, USA
- Department of Chemistry, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697-2025, USA
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697-3958, USA
| | - Philip G. Collins
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697-4575, USA
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15
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Kleinherbers E, Stegmann P, Kurzmann A, Geller M, Lorke A, König J. Pushing the Limits in Real-Time Measurements of Quantum Dynamics. PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS 2022; 128:087701. [PMID: 35275653 DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.128.087701] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2021] [Accepted: 01/05/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Time-resolved studies of quantum systems are the key to understanding quantum dynamics at its core. The real-time measurement of individual quantum numbers as they switch between certain discrete values, well known as a "random telegraph signal," is expected to yield maximal physical insight. However, the signal suffers from both systematic errors, such as a limited time resolution and noise from the measurement apparatus, as well as statistical errors due to a limited amount of data. Here we demonstrate that an evaluation scheme based on factorial cumulants can reduce the influence of such errors by orders of magnitude. The error resilience is supported by a general theory for the detection errors as well as experimental data of single-electron tunneling through a self-assembled quantum dot. Thus, factorial cumulants push the limits in the analysis of random telegraph data, which represent a wide class of experiments in physics, chemistry, engineering, and life sciences.
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Affiliation(s)
- E Kleinherbers
- Faculty of Physics and CENIDE, University of Duisburg-Essen, 47057 Duisburg, Germany
| | - P Stegmann
- Department of Chemistry, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA
| | - A Kurzmann
- 2nd Institute of Physics, RWTH Aachen University, 52074 Aachen, Germany
| | - M Geller
- Faculty of Physics and CENIDE, University of Duisburg-Essen, 47057 Duisburg, Germany
| | - A Lorke
- Faculty of Physics and CENIDE, University of Duisburg-Essen, 47057 Duisburg, Germany
| | - J König
- Faculty of Physics and CENIDE, University of Duisburg-Essen, 47057 Duisburg, Germany
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16
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Côté S, Bouilly D, Mousseau N. The molecular origin of the electrostatic gating of single-molecule field-effect biosensors investigated by molecular dynamics simulations. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2022; 24:4174-4186. [PMID: 35113103 DOI: 10.1039/d1cp04626h] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Field-effect biosensors (bioFETs) offer a novel way to measure the kinetics of biomolecular events such as protein function and DNA hybridization at the single-molecule level on a wide range of time scales. These devices generate an electrical current whose fluctuations are correlated to the kinetics of the biomolecule under study. BioFETs are indeed highly sensitive to changes in the electrostatic potential (ESP) generated by the biomolecule. Here, using all-atom solvent explicit molecular dynamics simulations, we further investigate the molecular origin of the variation of this ESP for two prototypical cases of proteins or nucleic acids attached to a carbon nanotube bioFET: the function of the lysozyme protein and the hybridization of a 10-nt DNA sequence, as previously done experimentally. Our results show that the ESP changes significantly on the surface of the carbon nanotube as the state of these two biomolecules changes. More precisely, the ESP distributions calculated for these molecular states explain well the magnitude of the conductance fluctuations measured experimentally. The dependence of the ESP with salt concentration is found to agree with the reduced conductance fluctuations observed experimentally for the lysozyme, but to differ for the case of DNA, suggesting that other mechanisms might be at play in this case. Furthermore, we show that the carbon nanotube does not impact significantly the structural stability of the lysozyme, corroborating that the kinetic rates measured using bioFETs are similar to those measured by other techniques. For DNA, we find that the structural ensemble of the single-stranded DNA is significantly impacted by the presence of the nanotube, which, combined with the ESP analysis, suggests a stronger DNA-device interplay. Overall, our simulations strengthen the comprehension of the inner working of field-effect biosensors used for single-molecule kinetics measurements on proteins and nucleic acids.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sébastien Côté
- Département de Physique, Faculté des Arts et des Sciences, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Canada. .,Département de Physique, Cégep de Saint-Jérôme, Saint-Jérôme, Canada
| | - Delphine Bouilly
- Département de Physique, Faculté des Arts et des Sciences, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Canada. .,Institut de recherche en immunologie et cancérologie (IRIC), Université de Montréal, Montréal, Canada.
| | - Normand Mousseau
- Département de Physique, Faculté des Arts et des Sciences, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Canada.
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17
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Macchia E, Torricelli F, Bollella P, Sarcina L, Tricase A, Di Franco C, Österbacka R, Kovács-Vajna ZM, Scamarcio G, Torsi L. Large-Area Interfaces for Single-Molecule Label-free Bioelectronic Detection. Chem Rev 2022; 122:4636-4699. [PMID: 35077645 DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemrev.1c00290] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Bioelectronic transducing surfaces that are nanometric in size have been the main route to detect single molecules. Though enabling the study of rarer events, such methodologies are not suited to assay at concentrations below the nanomolar level. Bioelectronic field-effect-transistors with a wide (μm2-mm2) transducing interface are also assumed to be not suited, because the molecule to be detected is orders of magnitude smaller than the transducing surface. Indeed, it is like seeing changes on the surface of a one-kilometer-wide pond when a droplet of water falls on it. However, it is a fact that a number of large-area transistors have been shown to detect at a limit of detection lower than femtomolar; they are also fast and hence innately suitable for point-of-care applications. This review critically discusses key elements, such as sensing materials, FET-structures, and target molecules that can be selectively assayed. The amplification effects enabling extremely sensitive large-area bioelectronic sensing are also addressed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eleonora Macchia
- Faculty of Science and Engineering, Åbo Akademi University, 20500 Turku, Finland
| | - Fabrizio Torricelli
- Dipartimento Ingegneria dell'Informazione, Università degli Studi di Brescia, 25123 Brescia, Italy
| | - Paolo Bollella
- Dipartimento di Chimica, Università degli Studi di Bari "Aldo Moro", 70125 Bari, Italy.,Centre for Colloid and Surface Science - Università degli Studi di Bari "Aldo Moro", 70125 Bari, Italy
| | - Lucia Sarcina
- Dipartimento di Chimica, Università degli Studi di Bari "Aldo Moro", 70125 Bari, Italy
| | - Angelo Tricase
- Dipartimento di Chimica, Università degli Studi di Bari "Aldo Moro", 70125 Bari, Italy
| | - Cinzia Di Franco
- CNR, Istituto di Fotonica e Nanotecnologie, Sede di Bari, 70125 Bari, Italy
| | - Ronald Österbacka
- Faculty of Science and Engineering, Åbo Akademi University, 20500 Turku, Finland
| | - Zsolt M Kovács-Vajna
- Dipartimento Ingegneria dell'Informazione, Università degli Studi di Brescia, 25123 Brescia, Italy
| | - Gaetano Scamarcio
- CNR, Istituto di Fotonica e Nanotecnologie, Sede di Bari, 70125 Bari, Italy.,Dipartimento Interateneo di Fisica "M. Merlin", Università degli Studi di Bari "Aldo Moro", 70125 Bari, Italy
| | - Luisa Torsi
- Faculty of Science and Engineering, Åbo Akademi University, 20500 Turku, Finland.,Dipartimento di Chimica, Università degli Studi di Bari "Aldo Moro", 70125 Bari, Italy.,Centre for Colloid and Surface Science - Università degli Studi di Bari "Aldo Moro", 70125 Bari, Italy
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18
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Agudo-Canalejo J, Adeleke-Larodo T, Illien P, Golestanian R. Synchronization and Enhanced Catalysis of Mechanically Coupled Enzymes. PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS 2021; 127:208103. [PMID: 34860057 DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.127.208103] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/21/2021] [Accepted: 10/19/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
We examine the stochastic dynamics of two enzymes that are mechanically coupled to each other, e.g., through an elastic substrate or a fluid medium. The enzymes undergo conformational changes during their catalytic cycle, which itself is driven by stochastic steps along a biased chemical free energy landscape. We find conditions under which the enzymes can synchronize their catalytic steps, and discover that the coupling can lead to a significant enhancement in their overall catalytic rate. Both effects can be understood as arising from a global bifurcation in the underlying dynamical system at sufficiently strong coupling. Our findings suggest that, despite their molecular scale, enzymes can be cooperative and improve their performance in metabolic clusters.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jaime Agudo-Canalejo
- Department of Living Matter Physics, Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization, D-37077 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Tunrayo Adeleke-Larodo
- Rudolf Peierls Centre for Theoretical Physics, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3PU, United Kingdom
| | - Pierre Illien
- Sorbonne Université, CNRS, Laboratoire Physicochimie des Electrolytes et Nanosystèmes Interfaciaux (PHENIX), UMR 8234, 4 place Jussieu, 75005 Paris, France
| | - Ramin Golestanian
- Department of Living Matter Physics, Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization, D-37077 Göttingen, Germany
- Rudolf Peierls Centre for Theoretical Physics, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3PU, United Kingdom
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19
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Xu X, Bowen BJ, Gwyther REA, Freeley M, Grigorenko B, Nemukhin AV, Eklöf‐Österberg J, Moth‐Poulsen K, Jones DD, Palma M. Tuning Electrostatic Gating of Semiconducting Carbon Nanotubes by Controlling Protein Orientation in Biosensing Devices. ANGEWANDTE CHEMIE (WEINHEIM AN DER BERGSTRASSE, GERMANY) 2021; 133:20346-20351. [PMID: 38504924 PMCID: PMC10946871 DOI: 10.1002/ange.202104044] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/22/2021] [Revised: 06/24/2021] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
The ability to detect proteins through gating conductance by their unique surface electrostatic signature holds great potential for improving biosensing sensitivity and precision. Two challenges are: (1) defining the electrostatic surface of the incoming ligand protein presented to the conductive surface; (2) bridging the Debye gap to generate a measurable response. Herein, we report the construction of nanoscale protein-based sensing devices designed to present proteins in defined orientations; this allowed us to control the local electrostatic surface presented within the Debye length, and thus modulate the conductance gating effect upon binding incoming protein targets. Using a β-lactamase binding protein (BLIP2) as the capture protein attached to carbon nanotube field effect transistors in different defined orientations. Device conductance had influence on binding TEM-1, an important β-lactamase involved in antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Conductance increased or decreased depending on TEM-1 presenting either negative or positive local charge patches, demonstrating that local electrostatic properties, as opposed to protein net charge, act as the key driving force for electrostatic gating. This, in turn can, improve our ability to tune the gating of electrical biosensors toward optimized detection, including for AMR as outlined herein.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xinzhao Xu
- Department of Chemistry and Materials Research InstituteQueen Mary University of LondonLondonE1 4NSUK
| | - Benjamin J. Bowen
- Molecular Biosciences DivisionSchool of BiosciencesSir Martin Evans BuildingCardiff UniversityCardiffCF10 3AXUK
| | - Rebecca E. A. Gwyther
- Molecular Biosciences DivisionSchool of BiosciencesSir Martin Evans BuildingCardiff UniversityCardiffCF10 3AXUK
| | - Mark Freeley
- Department of Chemistry and Materials Research InstituteQueen Mary University of LondonLondonE1 4NSUK
| | - Bella Grigorenko
- Department of ChemistryLomonosov Moscow State UniversityMoscow119991Russian Federation
- Emanuel Institute of Biochemical PhysicsRussian Academy of SciencesMoscow119991Russian Federation
| | - Alexander V. Nemukhin
- Department of ChemistryLomonosov Moscow State UniversityMoscow119991Russian Federation
- Emanuel Institute of Biochemical PhysicsRussian Academy of SciencesMoscow119991Russian Federation
| | - Johnas Eklöf‐Österberg
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical EngineeringChalmers University of Technology41296GothenburgSweden
| | - Kasper Moth‐Poulsen
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical EngineeringChalmers University of Technology41296GothenburgSweden
| | - D. Dafydd Jones
- Molecular Biosciences DivisionSchool of BiosciencesSir Martin Evans BuildingCardiff UniversityCardiffCF10 3AXUK
| | - Matteo Palma
- Department of Chemistry and Materials Research InstituteQueen Mary University of LondonLondonE1 4NSUK
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20
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Xu X, Bowen BJ, Gwyther REA, Freeley M, Grigorenko B, Nemukhin AV, Eklöf‐Österberg J, Moth‐Poulsen K, Jones DD, Palma M. Tuning Electrostatic Gating of Semiconducting Carbon Nanotubes by Controlling Protein Orientation in Biosensing Devices. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 2021; 60:20184-20189. [PMID: 34270157 PMCID: PMC8457214 DOI: 10.1002/anie.202104044] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/22/2021] [Revised: 06/24/2021] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
The ability to detect proteins through gating conductance by their unique surface electrostatic signature holds great potential for improving biosensing sensitivity and precision. Two challenges are: (1) defining the electrostatic surface of the incoming ligand protein presented to the conductive surface; (2) bridging the Debye gap to generate a measurable response. Herein, we report the construction of nanoscale protein-based sensing devices designed to present proteins in defined orientations; this allowed us to control the local electrostatic surface presented within the Debye length, and thus modulate the conductance gating effect upon binding incoming protein targets. Using a β-lactamase binding protein (BLIP2) as the capture protein attached to carbon nanotube field effect transistors in different defined orientations. Device conductance had influence on binding TEM-1, an important β-lactamase involved in antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Conductance increased or decreased depending on TEM-1 presenting either negative or positive local charge patches, demonstrating that local electrostatic properties, as opposed to protein net charge, act as the key driving force for electrostatic gating. This, in turn can, improve our ability to tune the gating of electrical biosensors toward optimized detection, including for AMR as outlined herein.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xinzhao Xu
- Department of Chemistry and Materials Research InstituteQueen Mary University of LondonLondonE1 4NSUK
| | - Benjamin J. Bowen
- Molecular Biosciences DivisionSchool of BiosciencesSir Martin Evans BuildingCardiff UniversityCardiffCF10 3AXUK
| | - Rebecca E. A. Gwyther
- Molecular Biosciences DivisionSchool of BiosciencesSir Martin Evans BuildingCardiff UniversityCardiffCF10 3AXUK
| | - Mark Freeley
- Department of Chemistry and Materials Research InstituteQueen Mary University of LondonLondonE1 4NSUK
| | - Bella Grigorenko
- Department of ChemistryLomonosov Moscow State UniversityMoscow119991Russian Federation
- Emanuel Institute of Biochemical PhysicsRussian Academy of SciencesMoscow119991Russian Federation
| | - Alexander V. Nemukhin
- Department of ChemistryLomonosov Moscow State UniversityMoscow119991Russian Federation
- Emanuel Institute of Biochemical PhysicsRussian Academy of SciencesMoscow119991Russian Federation
| | - Johnas Eklöf‐Österberg
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical EngineeringChalmers University of Technology41296GothenburgSweden
| | - Kasper Moth‐Poulsen
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical EngineeringChalmers University of Technology41296GothenburgSweden
| | - D. Dafydd Jones
- Molecular Biosciences DivisionSchool of BiosciencesSir Martin Evans BuildingCardiff UniversityCardiffCF10 3AXUK
| | - Matteo Palma
- Department of Chemistry and Materials Research InstituteQueen Mary University of LondonLondonE1 4NSUK
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21
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Woo SO, Oh M, Alhalhooly L, Farmakes J, Rajapakse AJ, Yang Z, Collins PG, Choi Y. Different Single-Enzyme Conformational Dynamics upon Binding Hydrolyzable or Nonhydrolyzable Ligands. J Phys Chem B 2021; 125:5750-5756. [PMID: 34038124 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.1c01589] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Single-molecule measurements of protein dynamics help unveil the complex conformational changes and transitions that occur during ligand binding and catalytic processes. Using high-resolution single-molecule nanocircuit techniques, we have investigated differences in the conformational dynamics and transitions of lysozyme interacting with three ligands: peptidoglycan substrate, substrate-based chitin analogue, and indole derivative inhibitors. While processing peptidoglycan, lysozyme followed one of the two mechanistic pathways for the hydrolysis of the glycosidic bonds: a concerted mechanism inducing direct conformational changes from open to fully closed conformations or a nonconcerted mechanism involving transient pauses in intermediate conformations between the open and closed conformations. In the presence of either chitin or an indole inhibitor, lysozyme was unable to access the fully closed conformation where catalysis occurs. Instead, lysozymes' conformational closures terminated at slightly closed, "excited" conformations that were approximately one-quarter of the full hinge-bending range. With the indole inhibitor, lysozyme reached this excited conformation in a single step without any evidence of rate-liming intermediates, but the same conformational motions with chitin involved three hidden, intermediate processes and features similar to the nonconcerted peptidoglycan mechanism. The similarities suggest that these hidden processes involve attempts to accommodate imperfectly aligned polysaccharides in the active site. The results provide a detailed glimpse of the enzyme-ligand interplay at the crux of molecular recognition, enzyme specificity, and catalysis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sung Oh Woo
- Department of Physics, North Dakota State University, Fargo, North Dakota 5810, United States
| | - Myungkeun Oh
- Materials and Nanotechnology Program, North Dakota State University, Fargo, North Dakota 58108, United States
| | - Lina Alhalhooly
- Department of Physics, North Dakota State University, Fargo, North Dakota 5810, United States
| | - Jasmin Farmakes
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, North Dakota State University, Fargo, North Dakota 58108, United States
| | - Arith J Rajapakse
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California, Irvine, California 92697, United States
| | - Zhongyu Yang
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, North Dakota State University, Fargo, North Dakota 58108, United States
| | - Philip G Collins
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California, Irvine, California 92697, United States
| | - Yongki Choi
- Department of Physics, North Dakota State University, Fargo, North Dakota 5810, United States.,Materials and Nanotechnology Program, North Dakota State University, Fargo, North Dakota 58108, United States
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22
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Palla M, Punthambaker S, Stranges B, Vigneault F, Nivala J, Wiegand D, Ayer A, Craig T, Gremyachinskiy D, Franklin H, Sun S, Pollard J, Trans A, Arnold C, Schwab C, Mcgaw C, Sarvabhowman P, Dalal D, Thai E, Amato E, Lederman I, Taing M, Kelley S, Qwan A, Fuller CW, Roever S, Church GM. Multiplex Single-Molecule Kinetics of Nanopore-Coupled Polymerases. ACS NANO 2021; 15:489-502. [PMID: 33370106 DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.0c05226] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
DNA polymerases have revolutionized the biotechnology field due to their ability to precisely replicate stored genetic information. Screening variants of these enzymes for specific properties gives the opportunity to identify polymerases with different features. We have previously developed a single-molecule DNA sequencing platform by coupling a DNA polymerase to an α-hemolysin pore on a nanopore array. Here, we use this approach to demonstrate a single-molecule method that enables rapid screening of polymerase variants in a multiplex manner. In this approach, barcoded DNA strands are complexed with polymerase variants and serve as templates for nanopore sequencing. Nanopore sequencing of the barcoded DNA reveals both the barcode identity and kinetic properties of the polymerase variant associated with the cognate barcode, allowing for multiplexed investigation of many polymerase variants in parallel on a single nanopore array. Further, we develop a robust classification algorithm that discriminates kinetic characteristics of the different polymerase mutants. As a proof of concept, we demonstrate the utility of our approach by screening a library of ∼100 polymerases to identify variants for potential applications of biotechnological interest. We anticipate our screening method to be broadly useful for applications that require polymerases with altered physical properties.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mirkó Palla
- Harvard Medical School, Department of Genetics, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, United States
- Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, United States
| | - Sukanya Punthambaker
- Harvard Medical School, Department of Genetics, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, United States
- Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, United States
| | - Benjamin Stranges
- Harvard Medical School, Department of Genetics, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, United States
| | - Frederic Vigneault
- Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, United States
| | - Jeff Nivala
- Harvard Medical School, Department of Genetics, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, United States
| | - Daniel Wiegand
- Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, United States
| | - Aruna Ayer
- Roche Sequencing Solutions, Santa Clara, California 95050, United States
| | - Timothy Craig
- Roche Sequencing Solutions, Santa Clara, California 95050, United States
| | | | - Helen Franklin
- Roche Sequencing Solutions, Santa Clara, California 95050, United States
| | - Shaw Sun
- Roche Sequencing Solutions, Santa Clara, California 95050, United States
| | - James Pollard
- Roche Sequencing Solutions, Santa Clara, California 95050, United States
| | - Andrew Trans
- Roche Sequencing Solutions, Santa Clara, California 95050, United States
| | - Cleoma Arnold
- Roche Sequencing Solutions, Santa Clara, California 95050, United States
| | - Charles Schwab
- Roche Sequencing Solutions, Santa Clara, California 95050, United States
| | - Colin Mcgaw
- Roche Sequencing Solutions, Santa Clara, California 95050, United States
| | | | - Dhruti Dalal
- Roche Sequencing Solutions, Santa Clara, California 95050, United States
| | - Eileen Thai
- Roche Sequencing Solutions, Santa Clara, California 95050, United States
| | - Evan Amato
- Roche Sequencing Solutions, Santa Clara, California 95050, United States
| | - Ilya Lederman
- Roche Sequencing Solutions, Santa Clara, California 95050, United States
| | - Meng Taing
- Roche Sequencing Solutions, Santa Clara, California 95050, United States
| | - Sara Kelley
- Roche Sequencing Solutions, Santa Clara, California 95050, United States
| | - Adam Qwan
- Roche Sequencing Solutions, Santa Clara, California 95050, United States
| | - Carl W Fuller
- Roche Sequencing Solutions, Santa Clara, California 95050, United States
- Columbia University, Center for Genome Technology and Biomolecular Engineering, Department of Chemical Engineering, New York, New York 10027, United States
| | - Stefan Roever
- Roche Sequencing Solutions, Santa Clara, California 95050, United States
| | - George M Church
- Harvard Medical School, Department of Genetics, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, United States
- Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, United States
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23
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Ghasemi S, Moth-Poulsen K. Single molecule electronic devices with carbon-based materials: status and opportunity. NANOSCALE 2021; 13:659-671. [PMID: 33406181 DOI: 10.1039/d0nr07844a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
The field of single molecule electronics has progressed remarkably in the past decades by allowing for more versatile molecular functions and improving device fabrication techniques. In particular, electrodes made from carbon-based materials such as graphene and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) may enable parallel fabrication of multiple single molecule devices. In this perspective, we review the recent progress in the field of single molecule electronics, with a focus on devices that utilizes carbon-based electrodes. The paper is structured in three main sections: (i) controlling the molecule/graphene electrode interface using covalent and non-covalent approaches, (ii) using CNTs as electrodes for fabricating single molecule devices, and (iii) a discussion of possible future directions employing new or emerging 2D materials.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shima Ghasemi
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Chalmers University of Technology, SE-412-96 Göteborg, Sweden.
| | - Kasper Moth-Poulsen
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Chalmers University of Technology, SE-412-96 Göteborg, Sweden.
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24
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Saikia N, Taha M, Pandey R. Molecular insights on the dynamic stability of peptide nucleic acid functionalized carbon and boron nitride nanotubes. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2021; 23:219-228. [PMID: 33325925 DOI: 10.1039/d0cp05759b] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/23/2023]
Abstract
The strategic approaches to the design of self-assembled hybrids of biomolecular systems at the nanoscale such as deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) with single-wall carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and their structural analog, boron nitride nanotubes (BNNTs), rely on understanding how biomolecules recognize and mediate intermolecular interactions with the nanomaterial's surface. In this paper, we consider peptide nucleic acid (PNA), which is a synthetic analog of DNA, and investigate its interaction with a zigzag CNT and BNNT of similar diameter. The results based on the molecular dynamics method find that PNA provides definitive contrasts in the adsorption on the tubular surface in aqueous solution: it prefers to wrap along the circumferential direction on a (11,0) CNT, whereas it binds along the axial direction adopting an extended configuration on a (11,0) BNNT. Moreover, gas-phase Monte Carlo simulations show a dependence of the nanotube diameter on the calculated adsorption energy, with BNNTs exhibiting higher adsorption energy compared to CNTs, and the largest-diameter (25,0) tubular configuration facilitates encapsulation of PNA rather than PNA being adsorbed on its sidewall. The results are expected to be of relevance in the design of novel PNA-based archetypal hybrid materials for nanoscale applications in health-related areas including biosensing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nabanita Saikia
- Department of Physics, Michigan Technological University, 1400 Townsend Drive, Houghton, Michigan 49931, USA.
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25
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Zeng BF, Wang G, Qian QZ, Chen ZX, Zhang XG, Lu ZX, Zhao SQ, Feng AN, Shi J, Yang Y, Hong W. Selective Fabrication of Single-Molecule Junctions by Interface Engineering. SMALL (WEINHEIM AN DER BERGSTRASSE, GERMANY) 2020; 16:e2004720. [PMID: 33155382 DOI: 10.1002/smll.202004720] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2020] [Revised: 09/14/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Recent progress in addressing electrically driven single-molecule behaviors has opened up a path toward the controllable fabrication of molecular devices. Herein, the selective fabrication of single-molecule junctions is achieved by employing the external electric field. For molecular junctions with methylthio (-SMe), thioacetate (-SAc), amine (-NH2 ), and pyridyl (-PY), the evolution of their formation probabilities along with the electric field is extracted from the plateau analysis of individual single-molecule break junction traces. With the increase of the electric field, the SMe-anchored molecules show a different trend in the formation probability compared to the other molecular junctions, which is consistent with the density functional theory calculations. Furthermore, switching from an SMe-anchored junction to an SAc-anchored junction is realized by altering the electric field in a mixed solution. The results in this work provide a new approach to the controllable fabrication and modulation of single-molecule junctions and other bottom-up nanodevices at molecular scales.
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Affiliation(s)
- Biao-Feng Zeng
- Pen-Tung Sah Institute of Micro-Nano Science and Technology, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering and State Key Laboratory of Physical Chemistry of Solid Surfaces, IKKEM, iChEM, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361005, China
| | - Gan Wang
- Pen-Tung Sah Institute of Micro-Nano Science and Technology, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering and State Key Laboratory of Physical Chemistry of Solid Surfaces, IKKEM, iChEM, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361005, China
| | - Qiao-Zan Qian
- Pen-Tung Sah Institute of Micro-Nano Science and Technology, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering and State Key Laboratory of Physical Chemistry of Solid Surfaces, IKKEM, iChEM, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361005, China
| | - Zhi-Xin Chen
- Pen-Tung Sah Institute of Micro-Nano Science and Technology, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering and State Key Laboratory of Physical Chemistry of Solid Surfaces, IKKEM, iChEM, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361005, China
| | - Xia-Guang Zhang
- School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Henan Normal University, Xinxiang, 453007, China
| | - Zhi-Xing Lu
- Pen-Tung Sah Institute of Micro-Nano Science and Technology, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering and State Key Laboratory of Physical Chemistry of Solid Surfaces, IKKEM, iChEM, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361005, China
| | - Shi-Qiang Zhao
- Pen-Tung Sah Institute of Micro-Nano Science and Technology, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering and State Key Laboratory of Physical Chemistry of Solid Surfaces, IKKEM, iChEM, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361005, China
| | - An-Ni Feng
- Pen-Tung Sah Institute of Micro-Nano Science and Technology, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering and State Key Laboratory of Physical Chemistry of Solid Surfaces, IKKEM, iChEM, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361005, China
| | - Jia Shi
- Pen-Tung Sah Institute of Micro-Nano Science and Technology, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering and State Key Laboratory of Physical Chemistry of Solid Surfaces, IKKEM, iChEM, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361005, China
| | - Yang Yang
- Pen-Tung Sah Institute of Micro-Nano Science and Technology, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering and State Key Laboratory of Physical Chemistry of Solid Surfaces, IKKEM, iChEM, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361005, China
| | - Wenjing Hong
- Pen-Tung Sah Institute of Micro-Nano Science and Technology, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering and State Key Laboratory of Physical Chemistry of Solid Surfaces, IKKEM, iChEM, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361005, China
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26
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Béraud A, Sauvage M, Bazán CM, Tie M, Bencherif A, Bouilly D. Graphene field-effect transistors as bioanalytical sensors: design, operation and performance. Analyst 2020; 146:403-428. [PMID: 33215184 DOI: 10.1039/d0an01661f] [Citation(s) in RCA: 67] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/11/2023]
Abstract
Graphene field-effect transistors (GFETs) are emerging as bioanalytical sensors, in which their responsive electrical conductance is used to perform quantitative analyses of biologically-relevant molecules such as DNA, proteins, ions and small molecules. This review provides a detailed evaluation of reported approaches in the design, operation and performance assessment of GFET biosensors. We first dissect key design elements of these devices, along with most common approaches for their fabrication. We compare possible modes of operation of GFETs as sensors, including transfer curves, output curves and time series as well as their integration in real-time or a posteriori protocols. Finally, we review performance metrics reported for the detection and quantification of bioanalytes, and discuss limitations and best practices to optimize the use of GFETs as bioanalytical sensors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anouk Béraud
- Institute for Research in Immunology and Cancer (IRIC), Université de Montréal, Montréal, Canada.
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27
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Noyce SG, Doherty JL, Zauscher S, Franklin AD. Understanding and Mapping Sensitivity in MoS 2 Field-Effect-Transistor-Based Sensors. ACS NANO 2020; 14:11637-11647. [PMID: 32790325 PMCID: PMC7895328 DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.0c04192] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Sensors based on two-dimensional (2D) field-effect transistors (FETs) are extremely sensitive and can detect charged analytes with attomolar limits of detection (LOD). Despite some impressive LODs, the operating mechanisms and factors that determine the signal-to-noise ratio in 2D FET-based sensors remain poorly understood. These uncertainties, coupled with an expansive design space for sensor layout and analyte positioning, result in a field with many reported highlights but limited collective progress. Here, we provide insight into sensing mechanisms of 2D molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) FETs by realizing precise control over the position and charge of an analyte using a customized atomic force microscope (AFM), with the AFM tip acting as an analyte. The sensitivity of the MoS2 FET channel is revealed to be nonuniform, manifesting sensitive hotspots with locations that are stable over time. When the charge of the analyte is varied, an asymmetry is observed in the device drain-current response, with analytes acting to turn the device off leading to a 2.5× increase in the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). We developed a numerical model, applicable to all FET-based charge-detection sensors, that confirms our experimental observation and suggests an underlying mechanism. Further, extensive characterization of a set of different MoS2 FETs under various analyte conditions, coupled with the numerical model, led to the identification of three distinct SNRs that peak with dependence on the layout and operating conditions used for a sensor. These findings reveal the important role of analyte position and coverage in determining the optimal operating bias conditions for maximal sensitivity in 2D FET-based sensors, which provides key insights for future sensor design and control.
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Affiliation(s)
- Steven G. Noyce
- Duke University, Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering, Durham, North Carolina 27708, USA
| | - James L. Doherty
- Duke University, Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering, Durham, North Carolina 27708, USA
| | - Stefan Zauscher
- Duke University, Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science, Durham, North Carolina, 27708, USA
| | - Aaron D. Franklin
- Duke University, Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering, Durham, North Carolina 27708, USA
- Duke University, Department of Chemistry, Durham, North Carolina 27708, USA
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28
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Miclotte G, Martens K, Fostier J. Computational assessment of the feasibility of protonation-based protein sequencing. PLoS One 2020; 15:e0238625. [PMID: 32915813 PMCID: PMC7485799 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0238625] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/22/2019] [Accepted: 08/20/2020] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Recent advances in DNA sequencing methods revolutionized biology by providing highly accurate reads, with high throughput or high read length. These read data are being used in many biological and medical applications. Modern DNA sequencing methods have no equivalent in protein sequencing, severely limiting the widespread application of protein data. Recently, several optical protein sequencing methods have been proposed that rely on the fluorescent labeling of amino acids. Here, we introduce the reprotonation-deprotonation protein sequencing method. Unlike other methods, this proposed technique relies on the measurement of an electrical signal and requires no fluorescent labeling. In reprotonation-deprotonation protein sequencing, the terminal amino acid is identified through its unique protonation signal, and by repeatedly cleaving the terminal amino acids one-by-one, each amino acid in the peptide is measured. By means of simulations, we show that, given a reference database of known proteins, reprotonation-deprotonation sequencing has the potential to correctly identify proteins in a sample. Our simulations provide target values for the signal-to-noise ratios that sensor devices need to attain in order to detect reprotonation-deprotonation events, as well as suitable pH values and required measurement times per amino acid. For instance, an SNR of 10 is required for a 61.71% proteome recovery rate with 100 ms measurement time per amino acid.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Jan Fostier
- IDLab, Ghent University-Imec, Ghent, Belgium
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29
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Huang Q, Li N, Zhang H, Che C, Sun F, Xiong Y, Canady TD, Cunningham BT. Critical Review: digital resolution biomolecular sensing for diagnostics and life science research. LAB ON A CHIP 2020; 20:2816-2840. [PMID: 32700698 PMCID: PMC7485136 DOI: 10.1039/d0lc00506a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/08/2023]
Abstract
One of the frontiers in the field of biosensors is the ability to quantify specific target molecules with enough precision to count individual units in a test sample, and to observe the characteristics of individual biomolecular interactions. Technologies that enable observation of molecules with "digital precision" have applications for in vitro diagnostics with ultra-sensitive limits of detection, characterization of biomolecular binding kinetics with a greater degree of precision, and gaining deeper insights into biological processes through quantification of molecules in complex specimens that would otherwise be unobservable. In this review, we seek to capture the current state-of-the-art in the field of digital resolution biosensing. We describe the capabilities of commercially available technology platforms, as well as capabilities that have been described in published literature. We highlight approaches that utilize enzymatic amplification, nanoparticle tags, chemical tags, as well as label-free biosensing methods.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qinglan Huang
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 208 North Wright Street, Urbana, IL 61801
- Holonyak Micro and Nanotechnology Laboratory, University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801
| | - Nantao Li
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 208 North Wright Street, Urbana, IL 61801
- Holonyak Micro and Nanotechnology Laboratory, University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801
| | - Hanyuan Zhang
- Holonyak Micro and Nanotechnology Laboratory, University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801
| | - Congnyu Che
- Holonyak Micro and Nanotechnology Laboratory, University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801
- Department of Bioengineering, University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801
| | - Fu Sun
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 208 North Wright Street, Urbana, IL 61801
- Holonyak Micro and Nanotechnology Laboratory, University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801
| | - Yanyu Xiong
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 208 North Wright Street, Urbana, IL 61801
- Holonyak Micro and Nanotechnology Laboratory, University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801
| | - Taylor D. Canady
- Holonyak Micro and Nanotechnology Laboratory, University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801
- Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801
| | - Brian T. Cunningham
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 208 North Wright Street, Urbana, IL 61801
- Holonyak Micro and Nanotechnology Laboratory, University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801
- Department of Bioengineering, University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801
- Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801
- Illinois Cancer Center, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Urbana, IL 61801
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30
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Kutovyi Y, Madrid I, Zadorozhnyi I, Boichuk N, Kim SH, Fujii T, Jalabert L, Offenhaeusser A, Vitusevich S, Clément N. Noise suppression beyond the thermal limit with nanotransistor biosensors. Sci Rep 2020; 10:12678. [PMID: 32728030 PMCID: PMC7391715 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-69493-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/05/2020] [Accepted: 07/08/2020] [Indexed: 01/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Transistor biosensors are mass-fabrication-compatible devices of interest for point of care diagnosis as well as molecular interaction studies. While the actual transistor gates in processors reach the sub-10 nm range for optimum integration and power consumption, studies on design rules for the signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) optimization in transistor-based biosensors have been so far restricted to 1 µm2 device gate area, a range where the discrete nature of the defects can be neglected. In this study, which combines experiments and theoretical analysis at both numerical and analytical levels, we extend such investigation to the nanometer range and highlight the effect of doping type as well as the noise suppression opportunities offered at this scale. In particular, we show that, when a single trap is active near the conductive channel, the noise can be suppressed even beyond the thermal limit by monitoring the trap occupancy probability in an approach analog to the stochastic resonance effect used in biological systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yurii Kutovyi
- Bioelectronics (IBI-3), Forschungszentrum Jülich, 52425, Jülich, Germany
| | - Ignacio Madrid
- LIMMS-CNRS/IIS, Institute of Industrial Science, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, 153-8505, Japan
| | - Ihor Zadorozhnyi
- Bioelectronics (IBI-3), Forschungszentrum Jülich, 52425, Jülich, Germany
| | - Nazarii Boichuk
- Bioelectronics (IBI-3), Forschungszentrum Jülich, 52425, Jülich, Germany
| | - Soo Hyeon Kim
- LIMMS-CNRS/IIS, Institute of Industrial Science, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, 153-8505, Japan
| | - Teruo Fujii
- LIMMS-CNRS/IIS, Institute of Industrial Science, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, 153-8505, Japan
| | - Laurent Jalabert
- LIMMS-CNRS/IIS, Institute of Industrial Science, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, 153-8505, Japan
| | | | | | - Nicolas Clément
- LIMMS-CNRS/IIS, Institute of Industrial Science, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, 153-8505, Japan.
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31
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Richardson MB, Gabriel KN, Garcia JA, Ashby SN, Dyer RP, Kim JK, Lau CJ, Hong J, Le Tourneau RJ, Sen S, Narel DL, Katz BB, Ziller JW, Majumdar S, Collins PG, Weiss GA. Pyrocinchonimides Conjugate to Amine Groups on Proteins via Imide Transfer. Bioconjug Chem 2020; 31:1449-1462. [PMID: 32302483 DOI: 10.1021/acs.bioconjchem.0c00143] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
Advances in bioconjugation, the ability to link biomolecules to each other, small molecules, surfaces, and more, can spur the development of advanced materials and therapeutics. We have discovered that pyrocinchonimide, the dimethylated analogue of maleimide, undergoes a surprising transformation with biomolecules. The reaction targets amines and involves an imide transfer, which has not been previously reported for bioconjugation purposes. Despite their similarity to maleimides, pyrocinchonimides do not react with free thiols. Though both lysine residues and the N-termini of proteins can receive the transferred imide, the reaction also exhibits a marked preference for certain amines that cannot solely be ascribed to solvent accessibility. This property is peculiar among amine-targeting reactions and can reduce combinatorial diversity when many available reactive amines are available, such as in the formation of antibody-drug conjugates. Unlike amides, the modification undergoes very slow reversion under high pH conditions. The reaction offers a thermodynamically controlled route to single or multiple modifications of proteins for a wide range of applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mark B Richardson
- Department of Chemistry, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, California 92697, United States
| | - Kristin N Gabriel
- Department of Molecular Biology & Biochemistry, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, California 92697, United States
| | - Joseph A Garcia
- Department of Chemistry, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, California 92697, United States
| | - Shareen N Ashby
- Department of Chemistry, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, California 92697, United States
| | - Rebekah P Dyer
- Department of Molecular Biology & Biochemistry, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, California 92697, United States
| | - Joshua K Kim
- Department of Molecular Biology & Biochemistry, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, California 92697, United States
| | - Calvin J Lau
- Department of Physics & Astronomy, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, California 92697, United States
| | - John Hong
- School of Medicine, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, California 92697, United States
| | - Ryan J Le Tourneau
- Department of Chemistry, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, California 92697, United States
| | - Sanjana Sen
- Department of Molecular Biology & Biochemistry, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, California 92697, United States
| | - David L Narel
- Department of Molecular Biology & Biochemistry, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, California 92697, United States
| | - Benjamin B Katz
- Department of Chemistry, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, California 92697, United States
| | - Joseph W Ziller
- Department of Chemistry, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, California 92697, United States
| | - Sudipta Majumdar
- Department of Chemistry, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, California 92697, United States
| | - Philip G Collins
- Department of Physics & Astronomy, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, California 92697, United States
| | - Gregory A Weiss
- Department of Chemistry, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, California 92697, United States.,Department of Molecular Biology & Biochemistry, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, California 92697, United States
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32
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Woo SO, Froberg J, Pan Y, Tani S, Goldsmith BR, Yang Z, Choi Y. Protein Detection using Quadratic Fit Analysis Near Dirac Point of Graphene Field Effect Biosensors. ACS APPLIED ELECTRONIC MATERIALS 2020; 2:913-919. [PMID: 32550598 PMCID: PMC7299209 DOI: 10.1021/acsaelm.9b00840] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/24/2023]
Abstract
Although graphene-based biosensors provid extreme sensitivity for the detection of atoms, gases, and biomolecules, the specificity of graphene biosensors to the target molecules requires surface decoration of graphene with bifunctional linkers such pyrene derivatives. Here, we demonstrate that the pyrene functionalization influences graphene's electrical properties by yielding partial formation of bilayer graphene which was confirmed by Raman 2D spectrum. Based on this observation, we introduce quadratic fit analysis of the nonlinear electrical behavior of pyrene-functionalized graphene near the Dirac point. Compared to the conventional linear fit analysis of the transconductance at a distance from the Dirac point, the quadratic fit analysis of the nonlinear transconductance near the Dirac point increased the overall protein detection sensitivity by a factor of 5. Furthermore, we show that both pyrene linkers and gating voltage near the Dirac point play critical roles in sensitive and reliable detection of proteins' biological activities with the graphene biosensors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sung Oh Woo
- Department of Physics, North Dakota State University, Fargo, North Dakota 58108, USA
| | - James Froberg
- Department of Physics, North Dakota State University, Fargo, North Dakota 58108, USA
| | - Yanxiong Pan
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, North Dakota State University, Fargo, North Dakota 58108, USA
| | - Sakurako Tani
- Department of Physics, North Dakota State University, Fargo, North Dakota 58108, USA
| | - Brett R. Goldsmith
- Cardea Bio Inc., 9649 Towne Centre Dr. Suite 100, San Diego, California 92121, USA
| | - Zhongyu Yang
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, North Dakota State University, Fargo, North Dakota 58108, USA
| | - Yongki Choi
- Department of Physics, North Dakota State University, Fargo, North Dakota 58108, USA
- Materials and Nanotechnology Program, North Dakota State University, Fargo, North Dakota 58108, USA
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34
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The Emergence of Insect Odorant Receptor-Based Biosensors. BIOSENSORS-BASEL 2020; 10:bios10030026. [PMID: 32192133 PMCID: PMC7146604 DOI: 10.3390/bios10030026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/27/2019] [Revised: 03/11/2020] [Accepted: 03/12/2020] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
The olfactory receptor neurons of insects and vertebrates are gated by odorant receptor (OR) proteins of which several members have been shown to exhibit remarkable sensitivity and selectivity towards volatile organic compounds of significant importance in the fields of medicine, agriculture and public health. Insect ORs offer intrinsic amplification where a single binding event is transduced into a measurable ionic current. Consequently, insect ORs have great potential as biorecognition elements in many sensor configurations. However, integrating these sensing components onto electronic transducers for the development of biosensors has been marginal due to several drawbacks, including their lipophilic nature, signal transduction mechanism and the limited number of known cognate receptor-ligand pairs. We review the current state of research in this emerging field and highlight the use of a group of indole-sensitive ORs (indolORs) from unexpected sources for the development of biosensors.
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35
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Resolving dynamics and function of transient states in single enzyme molecules. Nat Commun 2020; 11:1231. [PMID: 32144241 PMCID: PMC7060211 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-14886-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 49] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2018] [Accepted: 02/08/2020] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
We use a hybrid fluorescence spectroscopic toolkit to monitor T4 Lysozyme (T4L) in action by unraveling the kinetic and dynamic interplay of the conformational states. In particular, by combining single-molecule and ensemble multiparameter fluorescence detection, EPR spectroscopy, mutagenesis, and FRET-positioning and screening, and other biochemical and biophysical tools, we characterize three short-lived conformational states over the ns-ms timescale. The use of 33 FRET-derived distance sets, to screen available T4L structures, reveal that T4L in solution mainly adopts the known open and closed states in exchange at 4 µs. A newly found minor state, undisclosed by, at present, more than 500 crystal structures of T4L and sampled at 230 µs, may be actively involved in the product release step in catalysis. The presented fluorescence spectroscopic toolkit will likely accelerate the development of dynamic structural biology by identifying transient conformational states that are highly abundant in biology and critical in enzymatic reactions. T4 Lysozyme (T4L) is a model protein whose structure is extensively studied. Here the authors combine single-molecule and ensemble FRET measurements, FRET-positioning and screening and EPR spectroscopy to study the structural dynamics of T4L and describe its conformational landscape during the catalytic cycle by an extended Michaelis–Menten mechanism and identify an excited conformational state of the enzyme.
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36
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Li X, Lee KH, Shorkey S, Chen J, Chen M. Different Anomeric Sugar Bound States of Maltose Binding Protein Resolved by a Cytolysin A Nanopore Tweezer. ACS NANO 2020; 14:1727-1737. [PMID: 31995359 PMCID: PMC7162534 DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.9b07385] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/30/2023]
Abstract
Conformational changes of proteins are essential to their functions. Yet it remains challenging to measure the amplitudes and time scales of protein motions. Here we show that the cytolysin A (ClyA) nanopore was used as a molecular tweezer to trap a single maltose-binding protein (MBP) within its lumen, which allows conformation changes to be monitored as electrical current fluctuations in real time. In contrast to the current two state binding model, the current measurements revealed three distinct ligand-bound states for MBP in the presence of reducing saccharides. Our analysis reveals that these three states represented MBP bound to different isomers of reducing sugars. These findings contribute to the understanding of the mechanism of substrate recognition by MBP and illustrate that the nanopore tweezer is a powerful, label-free, single-molecule approach for studying protein conformational dynamics under functional conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xin Li
- Department of Chemistry, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, Massachusetts 01003, USA
| | - Kuo Hao Lee
- Department of Chemistry, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, Massachusetts 01003, USA
| | - Spencer Shorkey
- Department of Chemistry, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, Massachusetts 01003, USA
- Molecular and Cellular Biology Program, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, Massachusetts 01003, USA
| | - Jianhan Chen
- Department of Chemistry, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, Massachusetts 01003, USA
- Molecular and Cellular Biology Program, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, Massachusetts 01003, USA
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, Massachusetts 01003, USA
| | - Min Chen
- Department of Chemistry, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, Massachusetts 01003, USA
- Molecular and Cellular Biology Program, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, Massachusetts 01003, USA
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37
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Li Y, Yang C, Guo X. Single-Molecule Electrical Detection: A Promising Route toward the Fundamental Limits of Chemistry and Life Science. Acc Chem Res 2020; 53:159-169. [PMID: 31545589 DOI: 10.1021/acs.accounts.9b00347] [Citation(s) in RCA: 52] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
The ultimate limit of analytical chemistry is single-molecule detection, which allows one to visualize the dynamic processes of chemical/biological interactions with single-molecule or single-event sensitivity and hence enables the study of stochastic fluctuations under equilibrium conditions and the observation of time trajectories and reaction pathways of individual species in nonequilibrated systems. In addition, such studies may also allow the direct observation of novel microscopic quantum effects and fundamental discoveries of underlying molecular mechanisms in organic reactions and biological processes that are not accessible in ensemble experiments, thus providing unique opportunities to solve the key problems of physical, chemical, and life sciences. Consequently, the field of single-molecule detection has received considerable attention and has witnessed tremendous advances in different directions in combination with other disciplines. This Account describes our ongoing work on the development of groundbreaking methods (termed "single-molecule electrical approaches") of translating the detailed processes of chemical reactions or biological functions into detectable electrical signals at the single-event level on the platform of single-molecule electronic devices, with a particular focus on graphene-molecule-graphene single-molecule junctions (GMG-SMJs) and silicon-nanowire-based single-molecule electrical nanocircuits. These nanocircuit-based architectures are complementary to conventional optical or mechanical techniques but exhibit obvious advantages such as the absence of problems associated with bleaching and fluorescent labeling. Dash-line lithography (DLL) is an efficient lithographic method of cutting graphene and forming carboxylic-acid-functionalized nanogapped graphene point contact arrays developed to address the formidable challenges of molecular device fabrication difficulty and poor stability. Molecules of interest terminated by amines on both ends can be covalently sandwiched between graphene point contacts to create high-throughput robust GMG-SMJs containing only one molecule as the conductive element. In conjunction with the ease of device fabrication and device stability, this feature distinguishes GMG-SMJs as a new testbed platform for single-molecule analysis characterized by high temporal resolution and superior signal-to-noise ratios. By exploiting the DLL method, we have fabricated molecular devices that are sensitive to external stimuli and are capable of transducing chemical/biochemical events into electrical signals at the single-molecule level, with notable examples including host-guest interaction, hydrogen bond dynamics, DNA intercalation, photoinduced conformational transition, carbocation formation, nucleophilic addition, and stereoelectronic effect. In addition to GMG-SMJs and considering compatibility with the silicon-based industry, we have also developed a reliable method of point-functionalizing silicon-nanowire-based nanotransistors to afford single-molecule electrical nanocircuits. This approach proved to be a robust platform for single-molecule electrical analysis capable of probing fast dynamic processes such as single-protein detection, DNA hybridization/polymorphism, and motor rotation dynamics. The above systematic investigations emphasize the importance and unique advantages of universal single-molecule electrical approaches for realizing direct, label-free, real-time electrical measurements of reaction dynamics with single-event sensitivity. These approaches promise a fascinating mainstream platform to explore the dynamics of stochastic processes in chemical/biological systems as well as gain information in fields ranging from reaction chemistry for elucidating the intrinsic mechanisms to genomics or proteomics for accurate molecular and even point-of-care clinical diagnoses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yu Li
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, State Key Laboratory for Structural Chemistry of Unstable and Stable Species, College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, P. R. China
| | - Chen Yang
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, State Key Laboratory for Structural Chemistry of Unstable and Stable Species, College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, P. R. China
| | - Xuefeng Guo
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, State Key Laboratory for Structural Chemistry of Unstable and Stable Species, College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, P. R. China
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38
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Thomas SK, Jamieson WD, Gwyther REA, Bowen BJ, Beachey A, Worthy HL, Macdonald JE, Elliott M, Castell OK, Jones DD. Site-Specific Protein Photochemical Covalent Attachment to Carbon Nanotube Side Walls and Its Electronic Impact on Single Molecule Function. Bioconjug Chem 2020; 31:584-594. [PMID: 31743647 DOI: 10.1021/acs.bioconjchem.9b00719] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Functional integration of proteins with carbon-based nanomaterials such as nanotubes holds great promise in emerging electronic and optoelectronic applications. Control over protein attachment poses a major challenge for consistent and useful device fabrication, especially when utilizing single/few molecule properties. Here, we exploit genetically encoded phenyl azide photochemistry to define the direct covalent attachment of four different proteins, including the fluorescent protein GFP and a β-lactamase binding protein (BBP), to carbon nanotube side walls. AFM showed that on attachment BBP could still recognize and bind additional protein components. Single molecule fluorescence revealed that on attachment to SWCNTs function was retained and there was feedback to GFP in terms of fluorescence intensity and improved resistance to photobleaching; GFP is fluorescent for much longer on attachment. The site of attachment proved important in terms of electronic impact on GFP function, with the attachment site furthest from the chromophore having the larger effect on fluorescence. Our approach provides a versatile and general method for generating intimate protein-CNT hybrid bioconjugates. It can be potentially applied to any protein of choice; the attachment position and thus interface characteristics with the CNT can easily be changed by simply placing the phenyl azide chemistry at different residues by gene mutagenesis. Thus, our approach will allow consistent construction and modulate functional coupling through changing the protein attachment position.
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Affiliation(s)
- Suzanne K Thomas
- School of Physics and Astronomy, Cardiff University, Cardiff, CF24 3AA, United Kingdom
| | - W David Jamieson
- School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff, CF10 3NB, United Kingdom
| | - Rebecca E A Gwyther
- School of Biosciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff, CF10 3AX, United Kingdom
| | - Benjamin J Bowen
- School of Biosciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff, CF10 3AX, United Kingdom
| | - Adam Beachey
- School of Physics and Astronomy, Cardiff University, Cardiff, CF24 3AA, United Kingdom
| | - Harley L Worthy
- School of Biosciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff, CF10 3AX, United Kingdom
| | - J Emyr Macdonald
- School of Physics and Astronomy, Cardiff University, Cardiff, CF24 3AA, United Kingdom
| | - Martin Elliott
- School of Physics and Astronomy, Cardiff University, Cardiff, CF24 3AA, United Kingdom
| | - Oliver K Castell
- School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff, CF10 3NB, United Kingdom
| | - D Dafydd Jones
- School of Biosciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff, CF10 3AX, United Kingdom
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39
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Fried JP, Bian X, Swett JL, Kravchenko II, Briggs GAD, Mol JA. Large amplitude charge noise and random telegraph fluctuations in room-temperature graphene single-electron transistors. NANOSCALE 2020; 12:871-876. [PMID: 31833518 DOI: 10.1039/c9nr08574b] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
We analyze the noise in liquid-gated, room temperature, graphene quantum dots. These devices display extremely large noise amplitudes. The observed noise is explained in terms of a charge noise model by considering fluctuations in the applied source-drain and gate potentials. We show that the liquid environment and substrate have little effect on the observed noise and as such attribute the noise to charge trapping/detrapping at the disordered graphene edges. The trapping/detrapping of individual charges can be tuned by gating the device, which can result in stable two-level fluctuations in the measured current. These results have important implications for the use of electronic graphene nanodevices in single-molecule biosensing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jasper P Fried
- Department of Materials, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX1 3PH, UK.
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40
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Improved cellular bioactivity by heparin immobilization on polycarbonate film via an aminolysis modification for potential tendon repair. Int J Biol Macromol 2020; 142:835-845. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2019.09.136] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/21/2019] [Revised: 09/23/2019] [Accepted: 09/30/2019] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
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41
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Li Y, Zhao L, Yao Y, Guo X. Single-Molecule Nanotechnologies: An Evolution in Biological Dynamics Detection. ACS APPLIED BIO MATERIALS 2019; 3:68-85. [DOI: 10.1021/acsabm.9b00840] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Yu Li
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, State Key Laboratory for Structural Chemistry of Unstable and Stable Species, College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, P. R. China
| | - Lihua Zhao
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, State Key Laboratory for Structural Chemistry of Unstable and Stable Species, College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, P. R. China
| | - Yuan Yao
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, State Key Laboratory for Structural Chemistry of Unstable and Stable Species, College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, P. R. China
| | - Xuefeng Guo
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, State Key Laboratory for Structural Chemistry of Unstable and Stable Species, College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, P. R. China
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42
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Liang A, Tang B, Hou H, Sun L, Luo A. A novel CuFe2O4 nanospheres molecularly imprinted polymers modified electrochemical sensor for lysozyme determination. J Electroanal Chem (Lausanne) 2019. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jelechem.2019.113465] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
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43
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Multi-parameter measurements of conformational dynamics in nucleic acids and nucleoprotein complexes. Methods 2019; 169:69-77. [PMID: 31228549 DOI: 10.1016/j.ymeth.2019.06.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/07/2019] [Revised: 06/15/2019] [Accepted: 06/18/2019] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Biological macromolecules undergo dynamic conformational changes. Single-molecule methods can track such structural rearrangements in real time. However, while the structure of large macromolecules may change along many degrees of freedom, single-molecule techniques only monitor a limited number of these axes of motion. Advanced single-molecule methods are being developed to track multiple degrees of freedom in nucleic acids and nucleoprotein complexes at high resolution, to enable better manipulation and control of the system under investigation, and to collect measurements in massively parallel fashion. Combining complementary single-molecule methods within the same assay also provides unique measurement opportunities. Implementations of magnetic and optical tweezers combined with fluorescence and FRET have demonstrated results unattainable by either technique alone. Augmenting other advanced single-molecule methods with fluorescence detection will allow us to better capture the multidimensional dynamics of nucleic acids and nucleoprotein complexes central to biology.
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44
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Barnes B, Brozena A, Wang Y. Chemically tailored carbon nanotubes as a new toolbox for biomedicine and beyond. THE BIOCHEMIST 2019; 41:10-13. [PMID: 32788821 PMCID: PMC7418926 DOI: 10.1042/bio04104010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Like molecules of DNA, carbon nanotubes (CNTs) can display a variety of structures, but all conduct electrons and feature unique optical properties. In this perspective article, we highlight several recent works that bridge these two seemingly distant worlds. We illustrate the largely untapped potential of CNTs for biological research by exploring several developing biomedical applications utilizing nanotube semiconductors, including field effect transistor biosensors that couple high sensitivity with selectivity, and fluorophores for deep-tissue imaging whose excitation and emission wavelengths can be tuned throughout the near-IR II window simply by using defect chemistry.
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45
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Shao W, Burkert SC, White DL, Scott VL, Ding J, Li Z, Ouyang J, Lapointe F, Malenfant PRL, Islam K, Star A. Probing Ca 2+-induced conformational change of calmodulin with gold nanoparticle-decorated single-walled carbon nanotube field-effect transistors. NANOSCALE 2019; 11:13397-13406. [PMID: 31276143 DOI: 10.1039/c9nr03132d] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
Nanomaterials are ideal for electrochemical biosensors, with their nanoscale dimensions enabling the sensitive probing of biomolecular interactions. In this study, we compare field-effect transistors (FET) comprised of unsorted (un-) and semiconducting-enriched (sc-) single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs). un-SWCNTs have both metallic and semiconducting SWCNTs in the ensemble, while sc-SWCNTs have a >99.9% purity of semiconducting nanotubes. Both SWCNT FET devices were decorated with gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) and were then employed in investigating the Ca2+-induced conformational change of calmodulin (CaM) - a vital process in calcium signal transduction in the human body. Different biosensing behavior was observed from FET characteristics of the two types of SWCNTs, with sc-SWCNT FET devices displaying better sensing performance with a dynamic range from 10-15 M to 10-13 M Ca2+, and a lower limit of detection at 10-15 M Ca2+.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wenting Shao
- Department of Chemistry, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15260, USA.
| | - Seth C Burkert
- Department of Chemistry, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15260, USA.
| | - David L White
- Department of Chemistry, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15260, USA.
| | - Valerie L Scott
- Department of Chemistry, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15260, USA.
| | - Jianfu Ding
- Security and Disruptive Technologies Portfolio, National Research Council Canada, 1200 Montreal Road, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0R6, Canada
| | - Zhao Li
- Security and Disruptive Technologies Portfolio, National Research Council Canada, 1200 Montreal Road, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0R6, Canada
| | - Jianying Ouyang
- Security and Disruptive Technologies Portfolio, National Research Council Canada, 1200 Montreal Road, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0R6, Canada
| | - François Lapointe
- Security and Disruptive Technologies Portfolio, National Research Council Canada, 1200 Montreal Road, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0R6, Canada
| | - Patrick R L Malenfant
- Security and Disruptive Technologies Portfolio, National Research Council Canada, 1200 Montreal Road, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0R6, Canada
| | - Kabirul Islam
- Department of Chemistry, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15260, USA.
| | - Alexander Star
- Department of Chemistry, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15260, USA.
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46
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Dudina A, Frey U, Hierlemann A. Carbon-Nanotube-Based Monolithic CMOS Platform for Electrochemical Detection of Neurotransmitter Glutamate. SENSORS (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2019; 19:E3080. [PMID: 31336874 PMCID: PMC6660312 DOI: 10.3390/s19143080] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2019] [Revised: 07/02/2019] [Accepted: 07/03/2019] [Indexed: 02/02/2023]
Abstract
We present a monolithic biosensor platform, based on carbon-nanotube field-effect transistors (CNTFETs), for the detection of the neurotransmitter glutamate. We used an array of 9'216 CNTFET devices with 96 integrated readout and amplification channels that was realized in complementary metal-oxide semiconductor technology (CMOS). The detection principle is based on amperometry, where electrochemically active hydrogen peroxide, a product of the enzymatic reaction of the target analyte and an enzyme that was covalently bonded to the CNTFET, modulated the conductance of the CNTFET-based sensors. We assessed the performance of the CNTs as enzymatic sensors by evaluating the minimal resolvable concentration change of glutamate in aqueous solutions. The minimal resolvable concentration change amounted to 10 µM of glutamate, which was one of the best values reported for CMOS-based systems so far.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexandra Dudina
- Bio Engineering Laboratory, Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering, ETH Zurich, Mattenstrasse 26, CH-4058 Basel, Switzerland.
| | - Urs Frey
- Bio Engineering Laboratory, Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering, ETH Zurich, Mattenstrasse 26, CH-4058 Basel, Switzerland
- MaxWell Biosystems AG, CH-4058 Basel, Switzerland
| | - Andreas Hierlemann
- Bio Engineering Laboratory, Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering, ETH Zurich, Mattenstrasse 26, CH-4058 Basel, Switzerland
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47
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Hon J, Gonzalez RL. Bayesian-Estimated Hierarchical HMMs Enable Robust Analysis of Single-Molecule Kinetic Heterogeneity. Biophys J 2019; 116:1790-1802. [PMID: 31010664 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpj.2019.02.031] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2018] [Revised: 01/27/2019] [Accepted: 02/13/2019] [Indexed: 10/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Single-molecule kinetic experiments allow the reaction trajectories of individual biomolecules to be directly observed, eliminating the effects of population averaging and providing a powerful approach for elucidating the kinetic mechanisms of biomolecular processes. A major challenge to the analysis and interpretation of these experiments, however, is the kinetic heterogeneity that almost universally complicates the recorded single-molecule signal versus time trajectories (i.e., signal trajectories). Such heterogeneity manifests as changes and/or differences in the transition rates that are observed within individual signal trajectories or across a population of signal trajectories. Because characterizing kinetic heterogeneity can provide critical mechanistic information, we have developed a computational method that effectively and comprehensively enables such analysis. To this end, we have developed a computational algorithm and software program, hFRET, that uses the variational approximation for Bayesian inference to estimate the parameters of a hierarchical hidden Markov model, thereby enabling robust identification and characterization of kinetic heterogeneity. Using simulated signal trajectories, we demonstrate the ability of hFRET to accurately and precisely characterize kinetic heterogeneity. In addition, we use hFRET to analyze experimentally recorded signal trajectories reporting on the conformational dynamics of ribosomal pre-translocation (PRE) complexes. The results of our analyses demonstrate that PRE complexes exhibit kinetic heterogeneity, reveal the physical origins of this heterogeneity, and allow us to expand the current model of PRE complex dynamics. The methods described here can be applied to signal trajectories generated using any type of signal and can be easily extended to the analysis of signal trajectories exhibiting more complex kinetic behaviors. Moreover, variations of our approach can be easily developed to integrate kinetic data obtained from different experimental constructs and/or from molecular dynamics simulations of a biomolecule of interest.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jason Hon
- Department of Chemistry, Columbia University, New York, New York
| | - Ruben L Gonzalez
- Department of Chemistry, Columbia University, New York, New York.
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48
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Abstract
The measured electronic properties of proteins are known to depend critically on contacts, although little is known at the single-molecule level. Here, we have measured the conductance of single-protein molecules in their natural aqueous environment, but in conditions where no ion current flows, finding large conductances (nanosiemens) over long paths (many nanometers) when the protein is tethered by chemical contacts formed by binding-specific ligands. This provides a method for forming reliable contacts to proteins, and for the specific detection of single molecules. Thus, single antibodies, such as anti-Ebola IgG, can be detected electrically when they bind a peptide epitope tethered to electrodes, with no background signal from molecules that do not bind specifically. Proteins are widely regarded as insulators, despite reports of electrical conductivity. Here we use measurements of single proteins between electrodes, in their natural aqueous environment to show that the factor controlling measured conductance is the nature of the electrical contact to the protein, and that specific ligands make highly selective electrical contacts. Using six proteins that lack known electrochemical activity, and measuring in a potential region where no ion current flows, we find characteristic peaks in the distributions of measured single-molecule conductances. These peaks depend on the contact chemistry, and hence, on the current path through the protein. In consequence, the measured conductance distribution is sensitive to changes in this path caused by ligand binding, as shown with streptavidin–biotin complexes. Measured conductances are on the order of nanosiemens over distances of many nanometers, orders of magnitude more than could be accounted for by electron tunneling. The current is dominated by contact resistance, so the conductance for a given path is independent of the distance between electrodes, as long as the contact points on the protein can span the gap between electrodes. While there is no currently known biological role for high electronic conductance, its dependence on specific contacts has important technological implications, because no current is observed at all without at least one strongly bonded contact, so direct electrical detection is a highly selective and label-free single-molecule detection method. We demonstrate single-molecule, highly specific, label- and background free-electronic detection of IgG antibodies to HIV and Ebola viruses.
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49
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Goldsmith BR, Locascio L, Gao Y, Lerner M, Walker A, Lerner J, Kyaw J, Shue A, Afsahi S, Pan D, Nokes J, Barron F. Digital Biosensing by Foundry-Fabricated Graphene Sensors. Sci Rep 2019; 9:434. [PMID: 30670783 PMCID: PMC6342992 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-38700-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/28/2018] [Accepted: 12/31/2018] [Indexed: 01/17/2023] Open
Abstract
The prevailing philosophy in biological testing has been to focus on simple tests with easy to interpret information such as ELISA or lateral flow assays. At the same time, there has been a decades long understanding in device physics and nanotechnology that electrical approaches have the potential to drastically improve the quality, speed, and cost of biological testing provided that computational resources are available to analyze the resulting complex data. This concept can be conceived of as "the internet of biology" in the same way miniaturized electronic sensors have enabled "the internet of things." It is well established in the nanotechnology literature that techniques such as field effect biosensing are capable of rapid and flexible biological testing. Until now, access to this new technology has been limited to academic researchers focused on bioelectronic devices and their collaborators. Here we show that this capability is retained in an industrially manufactured device, opening access to this technology generally. Access to this type of production opens the door for rapid deployment of nanoelectronic sensors outside the research space. The low power and resource usage of these biosensors enables biotech engineers to gain immediate control over precise biological and environmental data.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Deng Pan
- Cardea Bio Inc., San Diego, CA, USA
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50
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Dudina A, Seichepine F, Chen Y, Stettler A, Hierlemann A, Frey U. Monolithic CMOS sensor platform featuring an array of 9'216 carbon-nanotube-sensor elements and low-noise, wide-bandwidth and wide-dynamic-range readout circuitry. SENSORS AND ACTUATORS. B, CHEMICAL 2019; 279:255-266. [PMID: 30344373 PMCID: PMC6193531 DOI: 10.1016/j.snb.2018.10.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
We present the design and characterization of a monolithic complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) biosensor platform comprising of a switch-matrix-based array of 9'216 carbon nanotube field-effect transistors (CNTFETs) and associated readout circuitry. The switch-matrix allows for flexible selection and simultaneous routing of 96 sensor elements to the corresponding readout channels. A low-noise, wide-bandwidth, wide-dynamic-range transimpedance continuous-time amplifier architecture has been implemented to facilitate resistance measurements in the range between 50 kΩ and 1 GΩ at a bandwidth of up to 1 MHz. The achieved accuracy of the resistance measurements over the whole range is 4%. The system has been successfully fabricated and tested and shows a noise performance equal to 2.14 pArms at a bandwidth of 1 kHz and 0.84 nArms at a bandwidth of 1 MHz. A batch integration of the CNTFETs has been achieved by using a dielectrophoresis (DEP)-based manipulation technique. The current-voltage curves of CNTFETs have been acquired, and the sensing capabilities of the system have been demonstrated by recording resistance changes of CNTFETs upon exposure to solutions with different pH values and different concentrations of NaCl. The smallest resolvable concentrations for the respective analytes were estimated to amount to 0.025 pH-units and 4 mM NaCl.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexandra Dudina
- ETH Zurich, Bio Engineering Laboratory, Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering, Basel, Switzerland
- RIKEN QBiC, Kobe, Japan
| | | | - Yihui Chen
- ETH Zurich, Bio Engineering Laboratory, Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering, Basel, Switzerland
- Analog Devices Shanghai Co. Ltd., Shanghai, China
| | - Alexander Stettler
- ETH Zurich, Bio Engineering Laboratory, Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Andreas Hierlemann
- ETH Zurich, Bio Engineering Laboratory, Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Urs Frey
- ETH Zurich, Bio Engineering Laboratory, Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering, Basel, Switzerland
- RIKEN QBiC, Kobe, Japan
- MaxWell Biosystems AG, Basel, Switzerland
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