Localized Surface Plasmon Resonance Sensing of Lipid-Membrane-Mediated Biorecognition Events

Abstract

Supported phospholipid bilayers (SPBs) have emerged as important model systems for studies of the natural cell membrane and its components, which are essential for the integrity and function of cells in all living organisms, and also constitute common targets for therapeutic drugs and in disease diagnosis. However, the preferential occurrence of spontaneous SPB formation on silicon-based substrates, but not on bare noble-metal surfaces, has so far excluded the use of the localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) sensing principle for studies of lipid-membrane-mediated biorecognition reactions. This is because the LSPR phenomenon is associated with, and strongly confined to, the interfacial region of nanometric noble-metal particles. This problem has been overcome in this study by a self-assembly process utilizing localized rupture of phospholipid vesicles on silicon dioxide in the bottom of nanometric holes in a thin gold film. The hole-induced localization of the LSPR field to the voids of the holes is demonstrated to provide an extension of the LSPR sensing concept to studies of reactions confined exclusively to SPB-patches supported on SiO2. In particular, we emphasize the possibility of performing label-free studies of lipid-membrane-mediated reaction kinetics, including the compatibility of the assay with array-based reading (approximately 7 x 7 microm2) and detection of signals originating from bound protein in the zeptomole regime.

Lipid-nanostructure hybrids and their applications in nanobiotechnology

“…61 An orthogonal surface modification strategy that spatially confines the LSPR fields and receptors into the same small volume allows for the detection of various biomolecules in a zeptomole regime. 62 Chemical fluorophores have been predominantly used as detection labels because they are commercially available, easy to incorporate into a lipid system and are observable on a conventional optical platform. Recently, plasmonic nanoparticles were tethered to lipid bilayers, and these particles showed good particle mobility on a lipid platform.…”

Optical trapping and manipulation of plasmonic nanoparticles: fundamentals, applications, and perspectives

“…127 Sensing applications are made possible because of the sensitivity of the LSPR to the surrounding matrix, and through surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS). [128][129][130] Additionally, because of their ability to efficiently convert light into heat, gold nanoparticles are excellent for investigations of dynamic processes by manipulating these processes with controllable application of heat. 131 The membranes of living cells are extremely complex structures and many vital processes, such as cellular respiration, nutrient recognition and ion transport/signalling occur at or in cellular and subcellular membranes.…”

Bioaffinity detection of pathogens on surfaces

“…Homola et al also employed a SPR imaging platform for the detection of foodborn pathogens [22] utilizing an array of sensing channels prepared by microspotting various thiolated DNA probe solutions complementary to specific 16 S ribosomal RNAs sequences of selected pathogen targets. Furthermore, SPR sensors are readily amenable to incorporation into portable and/or sensing platforms for pathogen taking advantage of the developments in microfluidics and the fabrication of miniaturized optics [23][24]. An extensive list of label -free SPR based detection of pathogens can be found in Table 1.…”