Capillary Microfluidics-Assembled Virus-like Particle Bionanoreceptor Interfaces for Label-Free Biosensing

Area of Science:

• Biotechnology
• Nanotechnology
• Sensor Technology

Background:

• Developing efficient methods for creating biosensor interfaces is crucial for rapid diagnostics.
• Tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) virus-like particles (VLPs) offer a platform for displaying numerous identical receptor peptides.
• Existing biosensing methods can be time-consuming and require complex sample preparation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a capillary microfluidics-integrated sensor system for rapid assembly of bionanoreceptor interfaces.
• To enable label-free biosensing of antibodies using engineered VLPs.
• To demonstrate a fast, controlled, and efficient method for VLP receptor layer assembly on impedance sensors.

Main Methods:

• Utilized genetically engineered TMV VLPs displaying FLAG-tags as nanoceptors.
• Employed capillary action and surface evaporation in an open-channel capillary microfluidic system for VLP assembly.
• Functionalized an impedance sensor with a VLP receptor monolayer using 5 μL of VLP solution (0.2 mg/mL) in 6 min at room temperature.

Main Results:

• Achieved controlled and accelerated assembly of a dense VLP receptor monolayer on the impedance sensor.
• Demonstrated label-free detection of target antibodies down to 55 pM concentration within 5 min.
• The VLP-functionalized sensor showed high sensitivity and rapid response times.

Conclusions:

• The integrated microsystem enables rapid and controlled creation of receptor-transducer interfaces.
• Nanoscale VLP-based sensors hold significant potential for fast, accurate, and decentralized pathogen detection.
• This approach offers a promising strategy for developing next-generation diagnostic tools.