SST: Ricin Quantification in Aqueous Media

0426170grimes本研究的目的是开发一种高灵敏度、特异性的蓖麻毒素传感器平台，该平台有了适当的知识基础，可以很容易地扩展到能够同时识别水介质（例如水、血液、血清）中的多种生物毒素或病原体。此外，传感器平台的设计成本相对较低，从而能够实现所得到的传感器技术。本研究要回答的基本和关键问题是，质量敏感磁弹性传感器是否可以修改以允许蛋白质生物毒素的定量，以及这些设备是否可以包装成一个小型手持传感器以帮助快速定量蓖麻毒素浓度？为了回答这些问题，提出了以下具体目标：(1)从根本上研究蓖麻毒素与生物识别分子（抗体或GSLs）修饰的聚合物薄膜的结合。在初步工作中，研究人员已经对蓖麻毒素和大肠杆菌O157:H7完成了这一任务。在这里，他们将识别模型生物毒素（蓖麻毒素）将结合的抗体或GSLs，然后将这些识别分子固定在聚（乙二醇）水凝胶或自组装单层表面上，并研究模型生物毒素与这些修饰表面的结合。(2)开发在磁弹性基板上对这些生物分子修饰的聚合物凝胶进行图像化的技术，并研究通过将模型毒素结合到传感器表面而在磁弹性材料中引起的共振频率变化；(3)将识别分子修饰的磁弹性传感器和适当的电子设备集成到一个手持设备中，该设备可以很容易地用于监测一次性药筒内收集的流体样品中的生物毒素含量。虽然这项提案的努力主要集中在蓖麻毒素上，但由此产生的传感器技术可以适用于其他毒素。

0426170GrimesThis research is specifically aimed at developing a highly sensitive, specific ricin sensor platform which, with the intellectual foundation in place, can be readily extended to enable simultaneous identification of multiple biotoxins or pathogens in aqueous media (e.g. water, blood, serum). Also, the sensor platform is designed to be of relatively low cost enabling practical implementation of the resulting sensor technology. The fundamental and critical questions to be answered by this research are, can mass sensitive magnetoelastic sensors be modified to permit the quantification of protein biotoxins, and can these devices be packaged into a small hand-held sensor to aid in the rapid quantification of ricin concentrations? To answer these questions the following specific aims are proposed: (1) investigate, on a fundamental level, the binding of the ricin biotoxin to polymer thin films modified with biorecognition molecules (antibodies or GSLs). In preliminary work the investigators have accomplished this for both ricin and E. coli O157:H7. Here they will identify antibodies or GSLs which the model biotoxin (ricin) will bind, then immobilize these recognition molecules on the surface of poly(ethylene glycol) hydrogels or self-assembled monolayers, and study the binding of the model biotoxins to these modified surfaces, (2) develop techniques for patterning these biomolecule-modified polymer gels on magnetoelastic substrates and study the changes in resonance frequency induced in the magnetoelastic material by binding of the model toxins onto the sensor surface, and (3) integrate the recognition molecule-modified magnetoelastic sensors and appropriate electronics into a hand-held device that can be readily used to monitor biotoxin content in collected fluid samples within a disposable cartridge. While efforts in this proposal are strictly focused on ricin, the resulting sensor technology could be adaptable to other toxins.