Revista de Nanomedicina y Nanotecnología

Abstracto

Lectin-based SERS Sandwich Immunoassay

Alexandra Olszewska, Elizabeth Armstrong, Maciej Olszewski, Michael Batenjany and Agnes Ostafin

Responding to need to develop sensitive and easy to use sensors for fungal diseases, we have shown using a portable Raman detector system that a SERS sandwich assay employing lectins can detect fungal cell wall polysaccharides at a level of <200 pg/ml sensitivity. This is competitive with reported SERS sandwich immunoassays, and opens up a new approach to the development of recognition molecule-based sensors. Lectins, found throughout the microbial, plant and animal kingdoms target large polysaccharide structures, and could be used in multiplexed sensor designs to rapidly identify the nature of infection so that timely treatment can begin. SERS sandwich assays have the potential to detect analytes at concentrations as low as atto-molar. The combination of these two technologies has the potential for development of a wide range of useful sensing platforms for use in medicine and research.