Avidin: a natural bridge for quantum dot-antibody conjugates

We describe the preparation and characterization of bioinorganic conjugates in which luminescent semiconductor CdSe-ZnS core-shell nanocrystal quantum dots (QDs) were coupled to antibodies through the use of an avidin bridge adsorbed to the nanocrystal surface via electrostatic self-assembly. Avidin, a highly positively charged protein, was found to adsorb tightly to QDs modified with dihydrolipoic acid, which gives their surface a homogeneous negative charge. QD conjugation to biotinylated antibodies subsequently is readily achieved. Fluoroimmunoassays utilizing these antibody conjugated QDs were successful in the detection of protein toxins (staphylococcal enterotoxin B, cholera toxin). QD-antibody conjugates formed in such a facile manner permit their use as a common immuno reagent, and in the development of multianalyte detection.     

SINGLET OXYGEN INDUCES FRANK STRAND BREAKS AS WELL AS ALKALI- AND PIPERIDINE-LABILE SITES IN SUPERCOILED PLASMID DNA

A covalently closed, circular, supercoiled plasmid was exposed to singlet oxygen by a separated-surface sensitizer. For each exposure, the quantity of single oxygen entering the DNA target solution was estimated by its oxidation of histidine. After singlet oxygen exposure, some DNA samples were treated to disclose occult lesions. Agarose gel electrophoresis was then used to resolve the unrelaxed supercoils from the relaxed circular and linear species, and all bands were quantitated fluorometrically. Exposure of supercoiled plasmid DNA to singlet oxygen induced frank DNA strand breaks, alkali-labile sites (pH 12.5, 90 degrees C, 30 min), and piperidine-labile sites (0.4 M, 60 degrees C, 30 min), all in a dose-dependent manner. Yields of alkali-labile and piperidine-labile sites ranged from one to four times the frank strand break yield. Replacement of buffered H2O by buffered D2O as the DNA solvent for singlet oxygen exposures increased DNA lesion yields by a factor of 2.6 (averaged over lesion classes). Our data for the detection of frank strand breaks is at variance with published results from studies in which singlet oxygen was derived from a thermolabile endoperoxide dissolved in the DNA solution.     

Selection of phage displayed peptides for the detection of 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene in seawater

We have selected for phage displayed peptides that showed specific binding to a 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT) derivative, 2,4,6-trinitrobenzene (TNB) in environmentally relevant conditions, and have integrated the selected phage into a continuous flow immunosensor platform for the detection of TNT. A library of 12 random amino acid peptides (12-mers) displayed on phage was panned against TNB coupled to the protein bovine serum albumin (BSA) in a solution of artificial seawater. Eight phage clones, seven of which share an identical amino acid sequence, bound selectively to TNB-BSA in artificial seawater as judged by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Addition of TNT, inhibited binding of the phage. Whole phage were labeled with the dye cyanine 5 (Cy5), and incorporated into a flow sensor platform. Labeled phage were loaded onto a TNB-affi-gel packed column, and a reproducible signal, at least five times greater than background, was observed on repeat injections of 10 mg/l TNT dissolved in seawater. This study presents one of the first examples of phage selection in a non-physiological medium, and the first demonstration that dye-labeled phage can be integrated into a continuous flow sensor.