Probes comprising metal nanoparticles, magnetic nanoparticles and target-specific fluorophores or binding sites

Abstract

Disclosed probes comprise metal nanoparticle cores associated with magnetic particles that allow probes associated with targets to be concentrated by an applied magnetic field to increase detection sensitivity and provide sufficient spacing between concentrated probes to avoid signal quenching. The probe may comprise at least one recognition receptor, and may further comprise at least one reporter molecule, such as a fluorescent tag, a Raman reporter, or combinations thereof. Concentrating probe-target composites substantially enhances a sensing signal, such as from 5 to 10 times, compared to detection without concentrating the probes. The method may be used to detect, for example, interleukins at concentrations at least as low as 25 pg/ml in sputum or blood from a subject for early and precise profiling of viral infections, such as SARS-CoV-2 infections.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.