Open AccessNanoparticle‐Templated Molecular Recognition Platforms for Detection of Biological Analytes
Author(s) -
Beyene Abraham G.,
Demirer Gozde S.,
Landry Markita P.
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
current protocols in chemical biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.503
H-Index - 14
ISSN - 2160-4762
DOI - 10.1002/cpch.10
Subject(s) - molecular recognition , nanosensor , analyte , total internal reflection fluorescence microscope , fluorescence , nanotechnology , nanoparticle , chemistry , polymer , molecular binding , biosensor , fluorescence microscope , materials science , molecule , organic chemistry , biochemistry , physics , quantum mechanics , membrane
Molecular recognition of biological analytes with optical nanosensors provides both spatial and temporal biochemical information. A recently developed sensing platform exploits near‐infrared fluorescent single‐wall carbon nanotubes combined with electrostatically pinned heteropolymers to yield a synthetic molecular recognition technique that is maximally transparent through biological matter. This molecular recognition technique is known as corona phase molecular recognition (CoPhMoRe). In CoPhMoRe, the specificity of a folded polymer toward an analyte does not arise from a pre‐existing polymer‐analyte chemical affinity. Rather, specificity is conferred through conformational changes undergone by a polymer that is pinned to the surface of a nanoparticle in the presence of an analyte and the subsequent modifications in fluorescence readout of the nanoparticles. The protocols in this article describe a novel single‐molecule microscopy tool (near‐infrared fluorescence and total internal reflection fluorescence [nIRF TIRF] hybrid microscope) to visualize the CoPhMoRe recognition process, enabling a better understanding of synthetic molecular recognition. We describe this requisite microscope for simultaneous single‐molecule visualization of optical molecular recognition and signal transduction. We elaborate on the general procedures for synthesizing and identifying single‐walled carbon nanotube‐based sensors that employ CoPhMoRe via two biologically relevant examples of single‐molecule recognition for the hormone estradiol and the neurotransmitter dopamine. © 2016 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.