Detection of biomolecules by magnetic reporting of labeled protein nanorods

BIOT 374

Timothy P Harrah, timothy.harrah@tufts.edu1, Jin Xie2, Jeong I Oh3, Michael J. Naughton3, Shouheng Sun2, Robert Guertin4, and Edward B Goldberg, eddie.goldberg@tufts.edu5. (1) Department of Biomedical Engineering, Tufts University, c/o Dept Molecular & Microbiology, A504, 136 Harrison Avenue, Boston, MA 02111, (2) Department of Chemistry, Brown University, 324 Brook Street, Providence, RI 02912, (3) Department of Physics, Boston College, 140 Commonwealth Ave, Higgins Hall, Chestnut Hill, MA 02467, (4) Department of Physics and Astronomy, Tufts University, Science and Technology Center, 4 Colby Street, Medford, MA 02155, (5) Department of Molecular and Microbiology, Tufts University School of Medicine, 136 Harrison Avenue, A504, Boston, MA 02111
Magnetic nanoparticles have recently received increased interest as a feasible basis for the development of rapid and compact biological sensors. Measurement of the AC magnetic susceptibility of nanomagnets is known to yield information about the hydrodynamic behavior of the magnet and has been shown to be an effective way to detect protein binding. Our approach uses sensors constructed of a nanomagnet attached to a rigid protein rod having specific binding site(s) for protein target(s). Target binding events are detected using AC magnetic susceptometry. The protein rod used is derived from the long tail fiber of bacteriophage T4. Purified tail fiber components are a ready source of robust, effectively monodisperse, rod-shaped particles approximately 3nm in diameter and 30 to 150nm in length. Recombinant DNA techniques can be used to create protein rods of different lengths and also to engineer peptide display at specific locations along their length, resulting in a system of nanoscale elements that can be easily produced and site specifically modified. Feasibility data using the anti-v-H-ras antibody-antigen interaction as a model system are presented. This work is supported by a grant from NERCE/BEID (NIAID/NIH).
 

Poster Session
5:30 PM-7:30 PM, Wednesday, August 22, 2007 BCEC -- Exhibit Hall - B2, Poster

Division of Biochemical Technology

The 234th ACS National Meeting, Boston, MA, August 19-23, 2007