Nanoscale Manipulation of DNA and Enzymes on Surfaces for SPR Imaging Biosensors

Hye Jin Lee

Department of Chemistry, University of California-Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA.

　

The detection and manipulation of biomolecules at a nanoscale or single molecule level is the central goal of the rapidly evolving research field of nanobiotechnology. This research area is highly interdisciplinary including aspects of chemistry, biochemistry, materials science, biomedical engineering and polymer science. In particular, our research has focused on the development of surface chemistries for the immobilization and detection of a variety of different biomolecules. By using the technique of surface plasmon resonance (SPR) imaging, we are able to detect and measure bioaffinity interactions quantitatively in real time without the use of labels or tags that are typically used in fluorescence measurements. Furthermore, these measurements can be performed in a high throughput multiplexed format. Most recently, we have demonstrated a novel approach that utilizes the enzyme RNase H in conjunction with RNA microarrays for the direct detection of DNA at femtomolar concentrations. This talk will highlight our current efforts in creating next generation biosensor microarrays that combine the use of various enzymatic processes including RNase H, RNase S, Exo III, T4 ligase and Exo I in conjunction with microfluidic networks for sample delivery and manipulation.

We envision that this approach will lead us possibly to “label-free” single molecule detection of biopolymers.