Microwave-accelerated ultrafast nanoparticle aggregation assays using gold colloids.
In this paper, the proof of principle of microwave-accelerated aggregation assay technology, which shortens the solution-based aggregation assays' run time to seconds (>100-fold increase in kinetics) with microwave heating, was demonstrated using a model aggregation assay based on the well-known interactions of biotin and avidin. Biotinylated gold colloids were aggregated in solution with the addition of streptavidin, which takes 20 min at room temperature to reach >90% completion and only 10 s with microwave heating. The initial velocity (after 1-s microwave heating) of the biotinylated gold colloids reaches up to 10.5 m/s, which gives rise to greater sampling of the total volume but not a large increase in bulk temperature. The room-temperature, steady-state velocity of the colloids was <0.5 microm/s. In control experiments, where streptavidin preincubated with d-biotin in solution is added to biotinylated gold colloids and microwave heated, gold colloids did not aggregate, demonstrating that nonspecific interactions between biotinylated gold colloids and streptavidin were negligible.
Aslan
Kadir
K
Institute of Fluorescence, Laboratory for Advanced Medical Plasmonics, Medical Biotechnology Center, University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute, 725 West Lombard Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21201, USA.
Geddes
Chris D
CD
D001360:Avidin / Q000737:chemistry; D001710:Biotin / Q000737:chemistry; D019921:Biotinylation; D003102:Colloids; D006046:Gold / Q000737:chemistry*; D007700:Kinetics; D008872:Microwaves; D053758:Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000528:radiation effects*; D013696:Temperature
D003102:Colloids; D001360:Avidin; D001710:Biotin; D006046:Gold