Design of luminescent biochips based on enzyme,antibody, or DNA composite layers

The use of beads bearing bioactive molecules to develop generic biochips based on chemi- and electro-chemiluminescent detection was evaluated. The biochips were composed of arrayed biosensors, including enzyme-charged beads, antigen-charged beads, or oligonucleotide-charged beads, entrapped in poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA-SbQ) photopolymer. In each case the sensing layers were spotted at the surface of a glassy carbon electrode as 0.3 µL drops, generating 500–800 µm spots. The luminescent reactions were either catalysed by horseradish peroxidase or triggered by application of a +850 mV potential between the glassy carbon electrode and a platinum pseudo-reference. Enzyme biochips were designed for the concomitant detection of choline, glucose, glutamate, lactate, lysine, and urate, based on the corresponding oxidase-charged beads and the electro-chemiluminescent (ECL) reaction with luminol-immobilised beads of the hydrogen peroxide produced. Limits of detection of 1 µmol L^–1 for glutamate, lysine and uric acid, 20 µmol L^–1 for glucose, and 2 µmol L^–1 for choline and lactate were found with detection ranging over three decades at least. Use of the electro-chemiluminescent biochip was extended to a tri-enzymatic sensing layer based on kinase-oxidase activity for detection of acetate. A reaction sequence using acetate kinase, pyruvate kinase, and pyruvate oxidase enabled the production of H₂O₂ in response to acetate injection in the range 10 µmol L^–1 to 100 mmol L^–1. Based on IgG-bearing beads, a chemiluminescent immuno-biochip has been also realised for the model detection of human IgG. Biotin-labelled anti-human IgG were used in a competitive assay, in conjunction with peroxidase-labelled streptavidin. Free antigen could then be detected with a detection limit of 25 pg (10⁸ molecules) and up to 15 ng. In a similar way, the use of oligonucleotide-immobilised beads enabled the realisation of DNA-sensitive biochips which could be used to detect a biotin-labelled sequence al a level of 5×10⁸ molecules.     

Latex bead immobilisation in PDMS matrix for the detection of p53 gene point mutation and anti-HIV-1 capsid protein antibodies

Two diagnostic chemiluminescent biochips were developed for either the detection of p53 gene point mutation or the serological detection of anti-HIV-1 p24 capsid protein. Both biochips were composed of 24 microarrays of latex beads spots (4×4) (150 m in diameter, 800 m spacing) entrapped in a poly(dimethylsiloxane) elastomer (PDMS). The latex beads, bearing oligonucleotide sequences or capsid protein, were spotted with a conventional piezoelectric spotter and subsequently transferred at the PDMS interface. The electron microscopy observation of the biochips showed how homogeneous and well distributed the spots could be. Point mutation detection on the codon 273 of the p53 gene was performed on the basis of the melting temperature difference between the perfect match sequence and the one base pair mismatch sequence. The hybridisation of a 20-mer oligonucleotide form the codon 273 including a one base pair mutation in its sequence on a biochip arrayed with non-muted and the muted complementary sequences, enabled a clear discrimination at 56°C between muted and wild sequences. Moreover, the quantitative measurement of the amount of muted sequence in a sample was possible in the range 0.4–4 pmol. Serological measurement of anti-HIV-1 p24 capsid protein on the biochip, prepared with 1-m-diameter latex beads, enabled the detection of monoclonal antibodies in the range 1.55–775 ng mL^–1. Such a range could be lowered to 0.775 ng mL^–1 when using 50-nm-diameter beads, which generated a higher specific surface. The validation of the biochip for the detection of anti-HIV-1 capsid protein antibodies was performed in human sera from seropositive and seronegative patients. The positivity of the sera was easily discriminated at serum dilutions below 1:1,000.     

A polymer-based microfluidic device for immunosensing biochips

This paper describes the design, fabrication, and test of a PDMS/PMMA-laminated microfluidic device for an immunosensing biochip. A poly(dimethyl siloxane)(PDMS) top substrate molded by polymer casting and a poly(methyl methacrylate)(PMMA) bottom substrate fabricated by hot embossing are bonded with pressure and hermetically sealed. Two inlet ports and an air vent are opened through the PDMS top substrate, while gold electrodes for electrochemical biosensing are patterned onto the PMMA bottom substrate. The analyte sample is loaded from the sample inlet port to the detection chamber by capillary force, without any external intervening forces. For this and to control the time duration of sample fluid in each compartment of the device, including the inlet port, diffusion barrier, reaction chamber, flow-delay neck, and detection chamber, the fluid conduit has been designed with various geometries of channel width, depth, and shape. Especially, the fluid path has been designed so that the sample flow naturally stops after filling the detection chamber to allow sufficient time for biochemical reaction and subsequent washing steps. As model immunosensing tests for the microfluidic device, functionalizations of ferritin and biotin to the sensing surfaces on gold electrodes and their biospecific interactions with antiferritin antiserum and streptavidin have been investigated. An electrochemical detection method for immunosensing by biocatalyzed precipitation has been developed and applied for signal registration. With the biochip, the whole immunosensing processes could be completed within 30 min.     

Monodisperse polystyrene particles crosslinked with poly(dimethyl siloxane) diacrylate using dispersion polymerization and their monomer swelling capability

A flexible poly(dimethyl siloxane) diacrylate (PDMSDA) crosslinker was synthesized using different molecular weights of poly(dimethyl siloxane) (PDMS, M _n =550, 1,700, 4,000 g/mol). The monodisperse polystyrene (PS) particles crosslinked with various contents of PDMSDA were prepared by dispersion polymerization, and applied as seed particles in the seeded polymerization. The crosslinking density of the PS particles was determined from the rate of transport of the monomer molecules to the crosslinked seed particles. It was confirmed that the monomer swelling capacity of seed particles and final morphological changes of polymer beads were determined significantly by the crosslinking density of the seed particles. In addition, the morphological change was not observed without the oligomer swelling step in the seeded polymerization due to the hydrophobic property of PDMS. When highly crosslinked seed particles were used in the seeded polymerization, peculiar morphology (doublet structure) of polymer beads appeared.     

Different Strategies of Covalent Attachment of Oligonucleotide Probe onto Glass Beads and the Hybridization Properties

The glass bead is a new biochip support material for immobilization biomolecules, due to its independence and convenient rearrangement. In order to optimize the immobilization efficiency of oligonucleotides onto glass beads and obtain the highest hybridization efficiency, three commonly used coupling strategies have been studied for covalently attaching oligonucleotides onto large glass beads. Glass beads with 250 μm diameter were amino-silaned with 2% 3-aminopropyltrimethoxysilane (APTMS) and then reacted separately with glutaraldehyde, succinic anhydride and 1,4-phenylene diisothiocyanate (PDITC) to derive CHO beads, COOH beads and isothiocyanate-modified beads (NCS-Beads) accordingly. Afterwards, amino-terminal oligonucleotides were covalently attached onto the surface of beads achieved by three strategies mentioned above. The immobilization efficiency were studied to compare the three strategies, which turned out 2.55 × 10¹³ probes/cm² for CHO-Beads, 3.21 × 10¹³ probes/cm² for COOH beads and 6.68 × 10¹³ probes/cm² for NCS beads. It meant that the immobilization efficiency based on NCS beads was most acceptable. And the method, developed by attaching amino-terminal oligonucleotides onto these cyanate active beads, could be regarded as an efficient one for immobilizing oligonucleotides onto a solid surface. Moreover, in this paper, the hybridization properties of NCS bead-based oligonucleotides have been studied by employing Cy5-tagged complementary oligonucleotides. It was found that the high probe density NCS beads led to low hybridization efficiency possibly due to the existence of steric crowding. In addition, the equilibrium binding constant K _A was determined by employing Langmuir isotherm model, which was 7.0 × 10⁶ M⁻¹ for NCS beads with the density of 6.7 × 10¹³ probes/cm². Furthermore, it only took 60 min to reach hybridization equilibrium. These large microspheres (>100 μm) can be employed in the mesofluidic systems for automated heterogeneous assays.     

Multi-analyte analysis system using an antibody-based biochip

A multi-analyte detection system using a unique antibody (Ab) biochip is described. The Ab-based biochip, also referred to as the protein biochip, uses a sensor array based on a complementary metal oxide silicon (CMOS) integrated circuit. The Ab-biochip has a sampling platform of four-by-four microarrays of antibodies deposited onto a Nylon membrane substrate. The micro-arrayed antibodies can be interrogated simultaneously or sequentially using the biochip sensing array detector with the use of a diffractive optical element illuminating each antibody spot individually. The usefulness of the Ab biochip is illustrated by the measurements of immunoglobulin G (IgG) used as the model analyte system. The detection limit for Cy5-labeled IgG molecules was 13 pg.     

Using hierarchical self-assembly to form three-dimensional lattices of spheres

This paper describes an approach to the fabrication of three-dimensional (3-D) structures of millimeter-scale spherical beads having a range of lattices-tetragonal, cubic, and hexagonal-using hierarchical self-assembly. The process has five steps: (i) metal-coated beads are packed in a rod-shaped cavity in an elastomeric polymer (poly(dimethylsiloxane), PDMS); (ii) the beads are embedded in a second polymer (PDMS or polyurethane, PU) using a procedure that leaves the parts of the beads in contact with the PDMS exposed; (iii) the exposed areas of the beads are coated with a solder having a low melting point; (iv) the polymer rods-with embedded beads and exposed solder drops-are suspended in an approximately isodense medium (an aqueous solution of KBr) and allowed to self-assemble by capillary interactions between the drops of molten solder; and (v) the assembly is finished by several procedures, including removing the beads from the polymer matrix by dissolution, filling the voids left with another material, and dissolving the matrix. The confinement of the beads in regular structures in polymer rods makes it possible to generate self-assembled structures with a variety of 3-D lattices; the type of the lattice formed can be controlled by varying the size of the beads, and the size and shape of the cross-section of the rods.     

Intensified biochip system using chemiluminescence for the detection of Bacillus globigii spores

This paper reports the first intensified biochip system for chemiluminescence detection and the feasibility of using this system for the analysis of biological warfare agents is demonstrated. An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay targeting Bacillus globigii spores, a surrogate species for Bacillus anthracis, using a chemiluminescent alkaline phosphatase substrate is combined with a compact intensified biochip detection system. The enzymatic amplification was found to be an attractive method for detection of low spore concentrations when combined with the intensified biochip device. This system was capable of detecting approximately 1 × 10⁵ Bacillus globigii spores. Moreover, the chemiluminescence method, combined with the self-contained biochip design, allows for a simple, compact system that does not require laser excitation and is readily adaptable to field use. Figure Schematic diagram of the miniature biochip detection system     

Flow-Injection Enzyme Immunoassay for Human IgG by Using Enhanced Chemiluminescence Reaction for Horseradish Peroxidase Label Quantitation

Abstract

A flow-injection sandwich enzyme immunoassay for human IgG as model antigen by using horseradish peroxidase as label, polystyrene beads as solid support, and the enhanced chemiluminescence reaction for peroxidase quantitation is described. the kinetics of antigen—immobilized antibody interaction has been studied and the quantitative time-concentration ranges of reactions have been estimated. Each of the two immunochemical steps of analysis have been pursued in the kinetic regime. the time for each immunochemical step was reduced to 2–3 min. the enhanced luminescent reaction involving luminol and p-iodophenol as substrates was used to detect the peroxidase label. the conditions for chemiluminescent reaction were optimized. the detection limit for peroxidase in a 3 min assay was 5–10^?16 moles/tube. the detection limit for IgG, in the developed immunoassay, is 10^?9 M, the overall time of the assay being 5–10 min.     

Electronic concentration of negatively-charged molecules on a microfabricated biochip

Various conditions leading to successful electronic concentration of negatively-charged molecules, notably oligonucleotides, on a microfabricated biochip have been studied. Tests on two chip designs have been performed. In the first generation biochip, which consisted of 12 electrodes 5 mm apart, fluorescent molecules were attracted to a positively-biased electrode leading to electronic concentration. In the second generation biochip, which consisted of eight electrodes 250 μm apart, much faster concentration rates were observed due to reduction in electrode spacing. These results are significant to design a pathogen detection biochip based on DNA hybridization assisted by electronic concentration.     

In Situ Synthesis and Copolymerization of Oligonucleotides on Conducting Polymers

 Two strategies of DNA biochip construction on conducting polymers are investigated. The first involves a direct electro-copolymerization of pyrrole–oligonucleotides (oligonucleotides tethered to a pyrrole group) with the pyrrole leading to a polypyrrole film bearing the oligonucleotides. Successive copolymerizations allow the transformation of a microelectrode array into a DNA array. The second methodology involves a direct in situ synthesis of oligonucleotides on a conducting polymer used as an organic electrode. In this way a 5′ electrolabile protecting group, p-nitrobenzoyl, was used. In order to construct short oligonucleotide sequences, the other protecting groups of the bases have also to be modified. Preliminary results based on this technology are shown. Received July 28, 1998. Revision October 19, 1998.     

Surface energy modified chips for detection of conformational states and enzymatic activity in biomolecules

A novel patterning method for anchoring biomolecules and noncovalent assembled conjugated polyelectrolyte (CPE)/biomolecule complexes to a chip surface is presented. The surface energy of a hydrophilic substrate is modified using an elastomeric poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) stamp, containing a relief pattern. Modification takes place on the parts where the PDMS stamp is in conformal contact with the substrate and leaves low molecular weight PDMS residues on the surface resulting in a hydrophobic modification, and then biomolecules and CPE/biomolecule complexes are then adsorbed in a specific pattern. The method constitutes a discrimination system for different conformations in biomolecules using CPEs as reporters and the PDMS modified substrates as the discriminator. Detection of different conformations in two biomacromolecules, a synthetic peptide (JR2E) and a protein (calmodulin), reported by the CPE and resolved by fluorescence was demonstrated. Also, excellent enzyme activity in patterned CPE/horseradish peroxidase (HRP) enzyme was shown, demonstrating that this method can be used to pattern biomolecules with their activity retained. The method presented could be useful in various biochip applications, such as analyzing proteins and peptides in large-scale production, in making metabolic chips, and for making multi-microarrays.     

Microscale plasma-initiated patterning (muPIP)

A novel technique to create biomolecular micropatterns of varying complexity on several types of polymer substrates is presented. This method uses a patterned PDMS stamp to preferentially expose or protect areas of an underlying polymer substrate from oxygen plasma. Following plasma treatment, the substrate is immersed in a biomolecular ink, whereby molecules preferentially adsorb to either the plasma-exposed or plasma-protected substrate regions, depending on the particular substrate/ink combination. Using this method, polyethylene (PE), polystyrene (PS), poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA), poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS), and poly(hydroxybutyrate/hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV) were micropatterned with different aqueous-based biomolecular inks (i.e., goat anti-rabbit immunoglobulin G, poly-l-lysine, and bovine serum albumin (BSA)). Water contact angle measurements performed on substrates after oxygen plasma exposure showed that the hydrophilicity of substrate areas exposed to plasma was significantly greater than that of areas protected from plasma by the PDMS stamp. In addition, scanning electron microscopy results demonstrated that substrate areas exposed to plasma were physically modified (e.g., roughened) compared to adjacent, protected areas. Areas in contact with a patterned PDMS stamp during plasma exposure were found to be physically unaffected by plasma treatment, and exhibited spatial features/dimensions consistent with the corresponding features of the patterned stamp. Last, protein patterns of BSA on the polymer substrates were stable and distinct after 4 weeks of incubation at 37 degrees C.     

Protein microarrays enhanced performance using nanobeads arraying and polymer coating

A nanosize material composed of 330 nm glass beads coated with a copolymer of N,N-dimethylacrylamide (DMA), N,N-acryloyloxysuccinimide (NAS) and [3-(methacryloyl-oxy)propyl]trimethoxysilane (MAPS) was developed to improve the protein immobilization on biochips. The developed material, bearing rabbit-IgG proteins, was arrayed as 150 μm spots trapped at the surface of a poly(dimethylsiloxane) elastomer (PDMS), and compared to copoly(DMA-NAS-MAPS)-coated glass slides and latex beads based biochips. Evidences were made through scanning electron microscopy that the newly developed material based microarray exhibited surface irregularities at the submicron level leading to high specific area.The combination of such large immobilization area with the highly efficient protein immobilization of the copoly(DMA-NAS-MAPS) polymer, enabled the achievement of microarrays exhibiting good performances both in pure media and complex samples (human sera). Indeed, high specific/non-specific signal ratio was found using this optimized immobilization procedure.Chemiluminescent detection of anti-rabbit-IgG was obtained through peroxidase labeled antibodies in the 5 μg/l to 10 mg/l range. Application of the developed system to real samples was achieved for the detection of rheumatoid factor (RF) through a capture assay. Interesting results were obtained, with a RF detection over the 5.3-485 IU/ml range and without measurable matrix effect or non-specific signal.     

Flow Injection Chemiluminescence for the Determination of Estriol via a Noncompetitive Enzyme Immunoassay

A novel approach to the detection of estriol using a flow injection system coupled to enhanced chemiluminescent immunoassay was developed based on noncompetitive immunoassay formats. A conjugated estriol-ovalbumin immobilized immunoaffinity column was inserted into the flow system to trap the unbound horseradish peroxidase (HRP)-labeled antibody after an off-line incubation of estriol and HRP-labeled anti-estriol antibody. The trapped enzyme conjugate was detected by the injection of chemiluminescent substrates to produce enhanced chemiluminescence. The linear range for the determination of estriol is 10.0 to 400 ng · mL⁻¹ with a correlation coefficient of 0.996 and a detection limit of 5.0 ng · mL⁻¹. The total time for sampling and chemiluminescent detection of one sample is 400 seconds after 30 min of pre-incubation. The results for pregnancy serum samples obtained by this method are in good agreement with those obtained using ELISA.     

Flow-through sensors for enhancing sensitivity and selectivity of FTIR spectroscopy in aqueous media

The principle of novel flow-through sensor systems with FTIR spectroscopic detection is presented on the example of the determination of organic acids in aqueous solution. The constructed flow-through sensor system is based on trapping of derivatized porous polymer beads in a conventional IR transmission cell and integration of the flow cell into a sequential injection (SI) manifold. By the SI-manifold sample pre-conditioning, sample-sensor interaction and sensor regeneration were performed in an automated and highly reproducible way. The polymer beads used in this study contained anion exchanger groups so that negatively charged molecules such as organic acids present in the anionic form could selectively interact with the polymer beads. Upon pumping a sample through the sensor cell organic acids were retained on the polymer beads whereas non-ionic matrix molecules passed hence allowing to separate the target analytes form the matrix. Apart from that the organic acids were also concentrated onto the polymer beads so that absolute analyte amounts in the low μg range could easily be detected. Linear calibration curves from 0 to 1 mmol l⁻¹ were recorded for acetic and malic acid using a sample volume of 500 μl (s_x0: 0.032 mmol l⁻¹ acetic acid and 0.031 mmol l⁻¹ malic acid). Mixtures of both acids were analyzed as well and it could be shown that by application of multivariate data evaluation procedures (PLS) simultaneous quantification of both acids could be performed successfully using the developed flow-through sensor system.     

Surface Modification of Polydimethylsiloxane Substrates with Nonfouling Poly(Poly(ethylene glycol)methacrylate) Brushes

This contribution presents a new strategy to grow nonfouling poly (poly(ethylene glycol)methacrylate) (PPEGMA) brushes from polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) substrates. The strategy presented here is based on the use of a sequence of vapor deposition/hydrolysis cycles to generate a surface-confined atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP)-initiator functionalized interpenetrating polymer network (IPN) layer. In contrast to most other approaches that have been developed to graft thin polymer layers from PDMS substrates, this technique obviates the need for UV/ozone pretreatment of the PDMS substrate. It is shown that the surface-confined ATRP-initiator functionalized IPN layer can be used to grow PPEGMA brushes in a controlled fashion and that the resulting PPEGMA coating significantly reduces nonspecific protein adsorption as compared to unmodified PDMS substrates.     

Bienzyme Electrode Compatible Behavior for Water-Soluble and-Insoluble Substrates

Abstract

A bienzymatic sensing layer containing two enzymes able to work sequentially, choline oxidase (ChOD) and phospholipase D (PLaseD), was used to design an electrochemical biosensor for the detection of either a water-soluble (choline) or insoluble (phosphatidylcholine) substrate. A photocrosslinkable polymer, poly(vinyl alcohol) bearing styrylpyridinium groups (PVA-SbQ), was used as host-matrix for enzyme immobilization. Controlled amounts of PVA-SbQ and of the two enzymes were directly coated on a platinum disk, then photopolymerized. The compatibility of working conditions for choline and phosphatidylcholine detection in the presence of Triton X-100 and CaCl₂ was investigated. The effect of the activity ratio PLaseD / ChOD on the sensor performance was determined. The sensitivities to choline and to phosphatidylcholine were 18 mA.1mol^?1 and 0.66 mA.1.mol^?1 respectively, the detection limit being 1.5.10^?8 M for choline and 1.5.10^?6 M for phosphatidylcholine. The linear range extended up to ca. 10^?4 M for choline and ca. 2.10^?5 M for phosphatidylcholine and the response time was close to 30 seconds for choline and ca. 2 min for phosphatidylcholine.     

A PDMS-based biochip with integrated sub-micrometre position control for TIRF microscopy of the apical cell membrane

A poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS)-based biochip with an integrated pressure controlled positioning system with sub-micrometre precision was realized. The biochip was easy and cheap to manufacture and enabled positioning in a wet environment. It allowed the application of total internal reflection fluorescence (TIRF) microscopy at the dorsal cell membrane, which is not adhering to a support. Specifically, the chip enabled TIRF microscopy at the apical membrane of polarized epithelial cells. Thereby, the device allowed us for the first time to monitor individual fusion events of GPI-GFP bearing vesicles at the apical membrane in live Madin-Darby canine kidney II (MDCK II) cells. Moreover, a mapping of fusion sites became feasible and revealed that the whole apical membrane is fusion competent. In total, the biochip offers an all-in-one solution for apical TIRF microscopy and contributes a novel tool to study trafficking processes close to the apical plasma membrane in polarized epithelial cells.     

Determination of Polymer Compatibility by Viscometric Measurements on Ternary Solutions of the Two Polymers

Results on the intrinsic viscosity [η] are reported for the system solvent(1)/polymer(2)/polymer(3) in which the solvent was benzene, polymer(2) was polystyrene (PS), and polymer(3) was poly(dimethylsiloxane) PDMS. The values of [η] were then used to determine the likely compatibility of polymer blends of PS and PDMS. Initial focus was on the traditional interaction parameter b ₂₃ ⁽¹⁾ used by several authors to predict compatibilities, it but depends on the molar mass, weight fractions, and concentrations of each polymer. A new interaction parameter b ₂₃ ⁽²⁾ that is independent of polymer(3) concentration and molar mass was evaluated for determinations of polymer compatibility.