Biosensors comprising amphiphilic polymers and use thereof
AssigneeSantorius BioAnalytical Instruments, inc.
InventorDan Su
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Abstract
Biosensors for detecting and analyzing protein aggregates in a sample are provided. A biosensor may be coated with an amphiphilic polymer having one or more hydrophobic groups for binding to protein aggregates, based on hydrophobic effects. An outer surface of a protein aggregate may be generally non-polar and hydrophobic and, thus, drawn to and captured by hydrophobic groups of the amphiphilic polymer. The biosensor may detect the binding of an analyte directly, without use of a detectable label attached to the analyte. In certain embodiments, the biosensor may detect the binding of the analyte based on indirect detection of a fluorescent label that binds to the analyte after capture by the biosensor.
Claims24
A biosensor for detecting a presence or amount of protein aggregates in a sample, the biosensor comprising:
- a core component comprising a distal surface;
- and
- a plurality of amphiphilic polymers, wherein each amphiphilic polymer of the plurality of amphiphilic polymers comprises:
- a linker having a first end and a second end;
- a hydrophilic moiety coupled between the first end of the linker and the distal surface of the core component;
- and
- a hydrophobic portion coupled to the second end of the linker.
A method for determining a presence or an amount of protein aggregates in a sample, the method comprising:
- contacting the sample with a biosensor, the biosensor comprising a core component and a plurality of amphiphilic polymers layered on a distal surface of the core component, each amphiphilic polymer of the plurality of amphiphilic polymers comprising a hydrophilic moiety coupled to the core component, a linker coupled to the hydrophilic moiety, and a hydrophobic portion coupled to the linker;
- capturing, via hydrophobic interactions, at least a portion of the protein aggregates in the sample with the hydrophobic portion of the plurality of amphiphilic polymers;
- labeling the at least a portion of the protein aggregates with a fluorescent dye;
- and
- determining the presence or the amount of the protein aggregates in the sample based on fluorescence intensity associated with the fluorescent dye bound to the protein aggregates.
A method for preparing a biosensor for analyzing protein aggregates in a sample, the method comprising:
- providing a core component having a distal surface, wherein the distal surface comprises a plurality of binding groups;
- providing a plurality of amphiphilic polymers, each amphiphilic polymer of the plurality of amphiphilic polymers comprising a hydrophilic moiety, a linker coupled to the hydrophilic moiety, and a hydrophobic portion coupled to the linker;
- and
- exposing the distal surface of the core component to the plurality of amphiphilic polymers, such that the hydrophilic moiety of the plurality of amphiphilic polymers binds to the plurality of binding groups of the distal surface and the hydrophobic portion of the plurality of amphiphilic polymers is immobilized to facilitate analysis of protein aggregates.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.