Biofunctionalized gold nanoparticles for colorimetric sensing of botulinum neurotoxin A light chain.
Botulinum neurotoxin is considered as one of the most toxic food-borne substances and is a potential bioweapon accessible to terrorists. The development of an accurate, convenient, and rapid assay for botulinum neurotoxins is therefore highly desirable for addressing biosafety concerns. Herein, novel biotinylated peptide substrates designed to mimic synaptosomal-associated protein 25 (SNAP-25) are utilized in gold nanoparticle-based assays for colorimetric detection of botulinum neurotoxin serotype A light chain (BoLcA). In these proteolytic assays, biotinylated peptides serve as triggers for the aggregation of gold nanoparticles, while the cleavage of these peptides by BoLcA prevents nanoparticle aggregation. Two different assay strategies are described, demonstrating limits of detection ranging from 5 to 0.1 nM of BoLcA with an overall assay time of 4 h. These hybrid enzyme-responsive nanomaterials provide rapid and sensitive detection for one of the most toxic substances known to man.
Centre for Biomimetic Sensor Science, Nanyang Technological University , 50 Nanyang Drive, Singapore 637553, Singapore.
Xiaohu
X
Liu
Yi
Y
Wang
Peng
P
Chen
Yusong
Y
Wang
Jinling
J
Zhang
Daniel
D
Aili
Bo
B
Liedberg
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D019274:Botulinum Toxins, Type A / Q000737:chemistry*; D003124:Colorimetry / Q000379:methods*; D006046:Gold / Q000737:chemistry*; D013058:Mass Spectrometry; D053768:Metal Nanoparticles; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D059748:Proteolysis; D050825:Synaptosomal-Associated Protein 25 / Q000737:chemistry
D050825:Synaptosomal-Associated Protein 25; D006046:Gold; D019274:Botulinum Toxins, Type A