Enhancement of Localized Surface Plasmon Resonance polymer based biosensor chips using well-defined glycopolymers for...

Area of Science:

• Biomaterials Science
• Analytical Chemistry
• Surface Chemistry

Background:

• Localized Surface Plasmon Resonance (LSPR) biosensors offer sensitive detection capabilities.
• Glycopolymer brushes can enhance biomolecule interactions through multivalency.
• Controlling polymer brush architecture is crucial for optimizing biosensor performance.

Purpose of the Study:

• To fabricate LSPR biosensor chips using glycopolymer brushes for concanavalin A detection.
• To investigate the impact of polymer brush length on sensor sensitivity and response range.
• To explore the potential for versatile analyte detection using the "click" chemistry approach.

Main Methods:

• Synthesis of poly(pentafluorostyrene) via reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer polymerization.
• Conversion to glycopolymers using a para-fluoro-thiol "click" reaction.
• Grafting glycopolymers onto LSPR sensor chips and evaluating concanavalin A binding.

Main Results:

• Successful fabrication of LSPR biosensor chips with glucose-functionalized glycopolymer brushes.
• Demonstrated enhanced affinity for concanavalin A due to the "glycocluster effect".
• Identified an optimal polymer brush length, as longer brushes increased detection limits (1.3 nmol/L) and saturated response at 1054.2 nmol/L.

Conclusions:

• The developed glycopolymer brush-based LSPR biosensors show superior performance for concanavalin A detection.
• Polymer brush length significantly influences sensor performance, with longer chains not always being beneficial.
• The "click" chemistry platform allows for facile modification to detect a wide array of analytes.