EAGER: Bio-Inspired Electrochemical Sensing of Small Molecules using Antibodies

PI：Goluch，埃德加D.提案编号：1740961提出了一种测量地表水中发现的小生物分子（如毒素）的新方法。 如果成功的话，这种方法可以为测量有害分子的便携式紧凑设备提供基础。用于检测小生物分子的传感器稀缺。目前的方法-酶联免疫吸附测定（ELISA）-由于抗原上有限的结合位点，通常不能用于感测小生物分子。需要一种替代办法。在哺乳动物系统中，具有与其结合的抗原的抗体被C1 q蛋白识别。一般认为，所有抗体在与抗原结合时都会发生构象变化。这种变化被蛋白质C1 q识别，C1 q附着在抗体的保守Fc区。 在拟议的工作中，C1 q识别事件将被用来检查检测水溶液样品中的小生物分析物的可行性。 将使用市售仪器系统进行结合测量和表征。在第二个目标中，C1 q蛋白将用氧化还原活性分子修饰，用于使用基于伏安法的电化学传感器进行测量，因为它是一种简单，稳健和成熟的技术。 如果该项目获得成功，预计将广泛适用于许多传感应用，并有可能开发出低成本，便携式电化学传感平台。该项目将为本科生和研究生提供多学科的研究经验，促进工程师和生物学家之间的合作，为未来的工作环境做好准备。

PI: Goluch, Edgar D. Proposal Number: 1740961 A new approach for measuring small biological molecules such as toxins found in surface water is proposed. The approach, if successful, can provide a basis for compact devices that are portable for measuring harmful molecules. There is a scarcity of sensors for detection of small biological molecules. The current approach - enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) - generally cannot be used for sensing small biomolecules due to limited binding sites on the antigen. An alternative approach is needed. Antibodies that have antigens bound to them are recognized in mammalian systems by C1q protein. It is generally accepted that all antibodies undergo a conformational change when they bind to an antigen. The change is recognized by the protein, C1q, which attaches to the conserved, Fc, region of the antibody. In the proposed work, C1q recognition event will be used to examine feasibility of detecting small bioanalytes in aqueous samples. The binding measurements and characterization will be performed using commercially available instrument systems. In the second aim, C1q protein will be modified with a redox-active molecule for measuring using voltammetry-based electrochemical sensor, as it is a simple, robust, and mature technology. If the project is successful, it is expected to be broadly applicable to many sensing application with the potential to develop a low-cost, portable electrochemical sensing platform. The project will provide undergraduate and graduate students with multidisciplinary research experiences that will foster collaboration between engineers and biologists, preparing them for future workplace environments.