Enzyme-based colorimetric assays (e.g., enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), immunohistochemistry, and western blot) have been extensively used in research labs and clinical diagnostics for decades because of their simplicity and reliability. Nevertheless, their detection sensitivities have not been substantially improved in recent years, which inhibits many critical applications such as early detection of cancers. In these assays, the detection sensitivity is inherently limited by the catalytic efficiencies of enzymes that are responsible for the generation of detectable color signal. In this talk, I will introduce our recent research on development of bimetallic nanocrystals as artificial enzymes with significantly enhanced catalytic efficiencies relative to their natural counterparts. Chemical synthesis, structural characterizations at the atomic level using high-performance electron microscope, and mechanistic understanding with computational modeling for the artificial enzymes will be illustrated. Applications of these artificial enzymes as alternatives to natural enzymes in in-vitro diagnostics of cancer biomarkers will be highlighted.

Engineering bimetallic nanocrystals as artificial enzymes for colorimetric detection of disease biomarkers

253rd National Meeting (2017)

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