UNS: Signal-Amplification for Instrument-Free, Multiplexed Immunoassay - a Generalized Platform for Biosening

CBET-1510468 Lei，YuPI提出了一种新型的生物测定法，可以可视化（而不是仪器），用于检测指示疾病状态的病原菌和生物分子。 如果成功的话，它可以用于食品工业、水质监测和医疗诊断。一种改良的酶联免疫吸附测定（ELISA），它将是可视化的（代替仪器），预计具有良好的灵敏度，简化的程序，降低成本，并允许容易地同时检测多个目标。智力优势：一种简单但潜在的非常强大的基于视觉高度测量的无仪器放大和生物传感技术将被开发，该技术具有优异的简单性、便携性、灵敏度和适应性。 （NP）。在洗涤步骤后，将测定管装载三嵌段聚合物溶液，然后装载自聚集的染色的基于脂质的NP。染色NP簇通过重力沉淀后，由于管内表面上缀合抗体捕获的靶标导致的表面结合簇的差异，预期染色NP簇的视觉高度显示浓度依赖性行为。通过使用多个试管，每个试管都连续涂有特异性抗体，可以同时检测多个靶标。更广泛的影响：积极的研究成果将可能对公共卫生产生积极影响，特别是对偏远和资源匮乏地区。该项目还将积极影响研究生，本科生和高中生的教育，将先进的纳米生物传感融入他们的教育和实验室培训。 与公众（通过康涅狄格科学中心和重点会议）和行业公司的互动将使结果得到更广泛的传播。两门新课程（生物分析传感器和纳米结构表征专题）将于2016年秋季向康州大学学生提供。该项目招募的研究生将积极与康州大学科技广场互动，学习创业知识，并在项目中出现有前途的IP时分拆创业公司。

CBET - 1510468 Lei, YuThe PI has proposed a novel biological assay that can be visualized (instead of instrument) for detecting pathogenic bacteria and biomolecules that indicate disease state. If successful, it could be used in the food industry, water quality monitoring and medical diagnostics.A modified Enzyme-Linked Immuno-Sorbent Assays (ELISAs) which would be visual (instead of an instrument) and is expected to have good sensitivity, simplified procedure, lower cost, and allows for the facile simultaneous detection of multiple targets. Intellectual Merit: A simple but potentially very powerful amplification and instrument-free biosensing technology based on visual height measurement with excellent simplicity, portability, sensitivity, and adaptability will be developed.In lieu of an enzyme the detection antibody is modified with self-assembled lipid-based nanoparticles (NPs). After a washing-step the assay tubes are loaded with a triblock polymer solution followed by dyed lipid-based NPs that self- aggregate. After the precipitation of dyed NP clusters by gravity, the visual height of dyed NPs clusters is expected to show concentration-dependent behavior, due to the difference in the surface-bound clusters resulting from targets captured by the conjugated antibody on the tube inner surface. By using multiple tubes, each coated with specific antibodies in series, multiple targets can be detected simultaneously. Broader Impacts: Positive research outcome will potentially impact positively on public health, especially for remote and low-resource regions. This project will also positively impact education of the graduate, undergraduate and high school students by integrating advanced nano-biosensing into their educational and laboratory training. Interaction with the general public (through Connecticut Science Center and focus conference sessions) and industry companies will enable broader dissemination of the results. Two new courses (Special topics in Bioanalytical Sensor and Nanostructure Characterization) will be offered to UConn students in Fall 2016. The graduate students to be recruited on this project will actively interact with UConn Tech Plaza to learn about entrepreneurship and spin off a start-up company if any promising IP emerges in this project.