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

建议编号：1740961提出了一种新的方法来测量地表水中发现的毒素等生物小分子。这种方法如果成功，可以为便携式测量有害分子的紧凑型设备提供基础。用于检测生物小分子的传感器很少。目前的方法--酶联免疫吸附试验(ELISA)--通常不能用于检测小的生物分子，因为抗原上的结合位点有限。需要另一种方法。在哺乳动物系统中，结合了抗原的抗体是由C1q蛋白识别的。人们普遍认为，所有抗体在与抗原结合时都会发生构象变化。这种变化是由一种名为C1q的蛋白质识别的，它附着在抗体的保守Fc区域。在拟议的工作中，将使用C1q识别事件来检查检测水样中小生物分析物的可行性。将使用商用仪器系统进行约束性测量和表征。第二个目标是用氧化还原活性分子修饰C1q蛋白，利用基于伏安法的电化学传感器进行检测，因为它是一种简单、健壮和成熟的技术。如果该项目成功，它有望广泛应用于许多传感应用，有可能开发出低成本、便携式的电化学传感平台。该项目将为本科生和研究生提供多学科研究经验，促进工程师和生物学家之间的合作，为他们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.