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

雷宇皮提出了一种新的生物检测方法，可以可视化（而不是仪器）检测病原菌和指示疾病状态的生物分子。如果成功，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法（elisa），它将是可视化的（而不是仪器），有望具有良好的灵敏度，简化的程序，更低的成本，并允许方便地同时检测多个目标。智力优势：将开发一种简单但可能非常强大的基于视觉高度测量的放大和无仪器生物传感技术，具有出色的简单性，便携性，灵敏度和适应性。检测抗体是用自组装的脂基纳米颗粒（NPs）修饰的，代替酶。洗涤步骤后，实验管装载三嵌段聚合物溶液，然后是自聚集的染色脂基NPs。在重力作用下沉淀染色的NP团簇后，染色的NP团簇的视觉高度预计会表现出浓度依赖的行为，这是由于由管内表面的偶联抗体捕获的靶标导致的表面结合团簇的差异。通过使用多个管，每个管串联涂覆特异性抗体，可以同时检测多个目标。更广泛的影响：积极的研究成果将对公共卫生产生潜在的积极影响，特别是对偏远和资源匮乏地区。该项目还将通过将先进的纳米生物传感技术整合到研究生、本科生和高中生的教育和实验室培训中，对他们的教育产生积极的影响。与公众（通过康涅狄格科学中心和焦点会议）和工业公司的互动将使研究结果得到更广泛的传播。康涅狄格大学将于2016年秋季开设两门新课程（生物分析传感器和纳米结构表征专题）。本项目招收的研究生将积极与康涅狄格大学科技广场互动，学习创业知识，如果在本项目中出现任何有前途的知识产权，将成立一家初创公司。

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.