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Johansson TB, Davtyan R, Valderas-Gutiérrez J, Gonzalez Rodriguez A, Agnarsson B, Munita R, Fioretos T, Lilljebjörn H, Linke H, Höök F, Prinz CN. Sub-Nanomolar Detection of Oligonucleotides Using Molecular Beacons Immobilized on Lightguiding Nanowires. Nanomaterials (Basel) 2024; 14:453. [PMID: 38470783 DOI: 10.3390/nano14050453] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/26/2024] [Revised: 02/15/2024] [Accepted: 02/17/2024] [Indexed: 03/14/2024]
Abstract
The detection of oligonucleotides is a central step in many biomedical investigations. The most commonly used methods for detecting oligonucleotides often require concentration and amplification before detection. Therefore, developing detection methods with a direct read-out would be beneficial. Although commonly used for the detection of amplified oligonucleotides, fluorescent molecular beacons have been proposed for such direct detection. However, the reported limits of detection using molecular beacons are relatively high, ranging from 100 nM to a few µM, primarily limited by the beacon fluorescence background. In this study, we enhanced the relative signal contrast between hybridized and non-hybridized states of the beacons by immobilizing them on lightguiding nanowires. Upon hybridization to a complementary oligonucleotide, the fluorescence from the surface-bound beacon becomes coupled in the lightguiding nanowire core and is re-emitted at the nanowire tip in a narrower cone of light compared with the standard 4π emission. Prior knowledge of the nanowire positions allows for the continuous monitoring of fluorescence signals from each nanowire, which effectively facilitates the discrimination of signals arising from hybridization events against background signals. This resulted in improved signal-to-background and signal-to-noise ratios, which allowed for the direct detection of oligonucleotides at a concentration as low as 0.1 nM.
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Affiliation(s)
- Therese B Johansson
- Division of Solid State Physics, Lund University, 221 00 Lund, Sweden
- NanoLund, Lund University, 221 00 Lund, Sweden
| | - Rubina Davtyan
- Division of Solid State Physics, Lund University, 221 00 Lund, Sweden
- NanoLund, Lund University, 221 00 Lund, Sweden
| | - Julia Valderas-Gutiérrez
- Division of Solid State Physics, Lund University, 221 00 Lund, Sweden
- NanoLund, Lund University, 221 00 Lund, Sweden
| | | | - Björn Agnarsson
- Division of Nano and Biophysics, Chalmers University of Technology, 412 96 Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Roberto Munita
- Division of Molecular Hematology, Department of Laboratory Medicine, Lund University, 221 00 Lund, Sweden
| | - Thoas Fioretos
- Division of Clinical Genetics, Department of Laboratory Medicine, Lund University, 221 00 Lund, Sweden
| | - Henrik Lilljebjörn
- Division of Clinical Genetics, Department of Laboratory Medicine, Lund University, 221 00 Lund, Sweden
| | - Heiner Linke
- Division of Solid State Physics, Lund University, 221 00 Lund, Sweden
- NanoLund, Lund University, 221 00 Lund, Sweden
| | - Fredrik Höök
- NanoLund, Lund University, 221 00 Lund, Sweden
- Division of Nano and Biophysics, Chalmers University of Technology, 412 96 Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Christelle N Prinz
- Division of Solid State Physics, Lund University, 221 00 Lund, Sweden
- NanoLund, Lund University, 221 00 Lund, Sweden
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Valderas-Gutiérrez J, Davtyan R, Sivakumar S, Anttu N, Li Y, Flatt P, Shin JY, Prinz CN, Höök F, Fioretos T, Magnusson MH, Linke H. Enhanced Optical Biosensing by Aerotaxy Ga(As)P Nanowire Platforms Suitable for Scalable Production. ACS Appl Nano Mater 2022; 5:9063-9071. [PMID: 35909504 PMCID: PMC9315950 DOI: 10.1021/acsanm.2c01372] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Sensitive detection of low-abundance biomolecules is central for diagnostic applications. Semiconductor nanowires can be designed to enhance the fluorescence signal from surface-bound molecules, prospectively improving the limit of optical detection. However, to achieve the desired control of physical dimensions and material properties, one currently uses relatively expensive substrates and slow epitaxy techniques. An alternative approach is aerotaxy, a high-throughput and substrate-free production technique for high-quality semiconductor nanowires. Here, we compare the optical sensing performance of custom-grown aerotaxy-produced Ga(As)P nanowires vertically aligned on a polymer substrate to GaP nanowires batch-produced by epitaxy on GaP substrates. We find that signal enhancement by individual aerotaxy nanowires is comparable to that from epitaxy nanowires and present evidence of single-molecule detection. Platforms based on both types of nanowires show substantially higher normalized-to-blank signal intensity than planar glass surfaces, with the epitaxy platforms performing somewhat better, owing to a higher density of nanowires. With further optimization, aerotaxy nanowires thus offer a pathway to scalable, low-cost production of highly sensitive nanowire-based platforms for optical biosensing applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julia Valderas-Gutiérrez
- NanoLund, Lund University, P.O. Box 118, SE-22100 Lund, Sweden
- Division
of Solid State Physics, Lund University, P.O. Box 118, SE-22100 Lund, Sweden
| | - Rubina Davtyan
- NanoLund, Lund University, P.O. Box 118, SE-22100 Lund, Sweden
- Division
of Solid State Physics, Lund University, P.O. Box 118, SE-22100 Lund, Sweden
| | - Sudhakar Sivakumar
- NanoLund, Lund University, P.O. Box 118, SE-22100 Lund, Sweden
- Division
of Solid State Physics, Lund University, P.O. Box 118, SE-22100 Lund, Sweden
| | - Nicklas Anttu
- Physics,
Faculty of Science and Engineering, Åbo
Akademi University, Henrikinkatu
2, FI-20500 Turku, Finland
| | - Yuyu Li
- AlignedBio
AB, Medicon Village,
Scheeletorget 1, SE-22363, Lund 22100, Sweden
| | - Patrick Flatt
- AlignedBio
AB, Medicon Village,
Scheeletorget 1, SE-22363, Lund 22100, Sweden
| | - Jae Yen Shin
- NanoLund, Lund University, P.O. Box 118, SE-22100 Lund, Sweden
- Division
of Solid State Physics, Lund University, P.O. Box 118, SE-22100 Lund, Sweden
| | - Christelle N. Prinz
- NanoLund, Lund University, P.O. Box 118, SE-22100 Lund, Sweden
- Division
of Solid State Physics, Lund University, P.O. Box 118, SE-22100 Lund, Sweden
| | - Fredrik Höök
- NanoLund, Lund University, P.O. Box 118, SE-22100 Lund, Sweden
- Department
of Physics, Chalmers University of Technology, SE-41296 Göteborg, Sweden
| | - Thoas Fioretos
- Division
of Clinical Genetics, Lund University, SE-22185 Lund, Sweden
| | - Martin H. Magnusson
- NanoLund, Lund University, P.O. Box 118, SE-22100 Lund, Sweden
- Division
of Solid State Physics, Lund University, P.O. Box 118, SE-22100 Lund, Sweden
| | - Heiner Linke
- NanoLund, Lund University, P.O. Box 118, SE-22100 Lund, Sweden
- Division
of Solid State Physics, Lund University, P.O. Box 118, SE-22100 Lund, Sweden
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Davtyan R, Sarvazyan NA. Output of a valveless Liebau pump with biologically relevant vessel properties and compression frequencies. Sci Rep 2021; 11:11505. [PMID: 34075100 PMCID: PMC8169938 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-90820-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/13/2021] [Accepted: 05/18/2021] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Liebau pump is a tubular, non-peristaltic, pulsatile pump capable of creating unidirectional flow in the absence of valves. It requires asymmetrical positioning of the pincher relative to the attachment sites of its elastic segment to the rest of the circuit. Biological feasibility of such valveless pumps remains a hotly debated topic. To test the feasibility of the Liebau-based pumping in vessels with biologically relevant properties we quantified the output of Liebau pumps with their compliant segments made of a silicone rubber that mimicked the Young modulus of soft tissues. The lengths, the inner diameters, thicknesses of the tested compliant segments ranged from 1 to 5 cm, 3 to 8 mm and 0.3 to 1 mm, respectively. The compliant segment of the setup was compressed at 0.5–2.5 Hz frequencies using a 3.5-mm-wide rectangular piston. A nearest-neighbor tracking algorithm was used to track movements of 0.5-mm carbon particles within the system. The viscosity of the aqueous solution was varied by increased percentage of glycerin. Measurements yielded quantitative relationships between viscosity, frequency of compression and the net flowrate. The use of the Liebau principle of valveless pumping in conjunction with physiologically sized vessel and contraction frequencies yields flowrates comparable to peristaltic pumps of the same dimensions. We conclude that the data confirm physiological feasibility of Liebau-based pumping and warrant further testing of its mechanism using excised biological conduits or tissue engineered components. Such biomimetic pumps can serve as energy-efficient flow generators in microdevices or to study the function of embryonic heart during its normal development or in diseased states.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rubina Davtyan
- Department of Pharmacology and Physiology, School of Medicine and Health Science, The George Washington University, 2300 Eye Street NW, Washington, DC, 20037, USA
| | - Narine A Sarvazyan
- Department of Pharmacology and Physiology, School of Medicine and Health Science, The George Washington University, 2300 Eye Street NW, Washington, DC, 20037, USA.
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Kuhn T, Hettich J, Davtyan R, Gebhardt JCM. Single molecule tracking and analysis framework including theory-predicted parameter settings. Sci Rep 2021; 11:9465. [PMID: 33947895 PMCID: PMC8096815 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-88802-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/25/2020] [Accepted: 04/16/2021] [Indexed: 02/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Imaging, tracking and analyzing individual biomolecules in living systems is a powerful technology to obtain quantitative kinetic and spatial information such as reaction rates, diffusion coefficients and localization maps. Common tracking tools often operate on single movies and require additional manual steps to analyze whole data sets or to compare different experimental conditions. We report a fast and comprehensive single molecule tracking and analysis framework (TrackIt) to simultaneously process several multi-movie data sets. A user-friendly GUI offers convenient tracking visualization, multiple state-of-the-art analysis procedures, display of results, and data im- and export at different levels to utilize external software tools. We applied our framework to quantify dissociation rates of a transcription factor in the nucleus and found that tracking errors, similar to fluorophore photobleaching, have to be considered for reliable analysis. Accordingly, we developed an algorithm, which accounts for both tracking losses and suggests optimized tracking parameters when evaluating reaction rates. Our versatile and extensible framework facilitates quantitative analysis of single molecule experiments at different experimental conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Timo Kuhn
- grid.6582.90000 0004 1936 9748Institute of Biophysics, Ulm University, Albert-Einstein-Allee 11, 89081 Ulm, Germany
| | - Johannes Hettich
- grid.6582.90000 0004 1936 9748Institute of Biophysics, Ulm University, Albert-Einstein-Allee 11, 89081 Ulm, Germany
| | - Rubina Davtyan
- grid.6582.90000 0004 1936 9748Institute of Biophysics, Ulm University, Albert-Einstein-Allee 11, 89081 Ulm, Germany ,grid.4514.40000 0001 0930 2361Present Address: NanoLund and Solid State Physics, Lund University, Box 118, 22100 Lund, Sweden
| | - J. Christof M. Gebhardt
- grid.6582.90000 0004 1936 9748Institute of Biophysics, Ulm University, Albert-Einstein-Allee 11, 89081 Ulm, Germany
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