Signal transduction through membrane receptors represents one of the fundamental aspects of biological recognition and communication. Aside from its biological implication, the phenomena are of great interest to biosensor design and fabrication. To further the screenings of binding activities on cell membranes, supported lipid bilayer (SLB) technology has gained significant attention. These systems may easily be tailored in composition and complexity, and are ideal interfaces for coupling to plasmonic assays since they may be supported in close proximity to metallic nanoparticles and thin films, where label-free optical measurements are most sensitive. Here, we report recent advances in SPR imaging analysis of SLB systems, including new arraying processes derived from the preservation methods of drought tolerant organisms, and in situ signal amplification methods for quantitative assessment of low levels of cholera toxin in complex samples. The arraying process was realized through the addition of trehalose to preformed vesicle suspensions, which forms a glassy protective layer around individual vesicles when dried. Rehydration immediately forms an SLB at the site of deposition, allowing for on-demand generation of spatially defined SLB arrays. The lateral mobility of lipids and preservation of embedded receptor activity was investigated, and found to be nearly identical to traditionally formed membranes. Together with new signal enhancement schemes based on plasmonic coupling to the gold surface, these strategies could be widely applied to multiplexed and sensitive measurements for a wide variety of membrane ligand-receptor systems.

Plasmonic microarrays for enhanced SPR imaging analysis of bacterial toxins

251st National Meeting (2016)

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