Self-Assembled Peptide-Labeled Probes for Agglutination-Based Sensing

Area of Science:

• Biomaterials Science
• Nanotechnology
• Analytical Chemistry

Background:

• Polydiacetylene (PDA) vesicles are stimuli-responsive materials with useful optical properties for sensing.
• Agglutination-based sensing using PDA vesicles is an underutilized but promising technique.
• Developing rapid and sensitive detection methods for multivalent targets is crucial in diagnostics.

Purpose of the Study:

• To create a novel agglutination probe using peptide-displaying polydiacetylene vesicles.
• To demonstrate proof-of-concept detection of a multivalent target, streptavidin, using this probe.
• To investigate the relationship between vesicle composition and detection performance.

Main Methods:

• Functionalization of diacetylene amphiphiles with a biotin mimetic peptide.
• Formation of peptide-displaying polydiacetylene vesicles.
• Optimization of vesicle composition to determine optimal peptide surface density.
• Testing the agglutination response to the multivalent target streptavidin.

Main Results:

• Successful generation of a peptide-functionalized polydiacetylene vesicle probe.
• Demonstrated proof-of-concept detection of streptavidin via an effective agglutination response.
• Identified a limit for peptide amphiphile surface density on the vesicles.
• Achieved a wide operational detection range for the target.

Conclusions:

• Peptide-displaying polydiacetylene vesicles can be rapidly generated for agglutination-based sensing.
• The developed probe shows effective detection of streptavidin, highlighting its potential for multivalent target analysis.
• Future formulations may be applicable for profiling a broader range of multivalent targets.