title: An aptamer-functionalized chemomechanically modulated biomolecule catch-and-release system.
abstract: The efficient extraction of (bio)molecules from fluid mixtures is vital for applications ranging from target characterization in (bio)chemistry to environmental analysis and biomedical diagnostics. Inspired by biological processes that seamlessly synchronize the capture, transport and release of biomolecules, we designed a robust chemomechanical sorting system capable of the concerted catch and release of target biomolecules from a solution mixture. The hybrid system is composed of target-specific, reversible binding sites attached to microscopic fins embedded in a responsive hydrogel that moves the cargo between two chemically distinct environments. To demonstrate the utility of the system, we focus on the effective separation of thrombin by synchronizing the pH-dependent binding strength of a thrombin-specific aptamer with volume changes of the pH-responsive hydrogel in a biphasic microfluidic regime, and show a non-destructive separation that has a quantitative sorting efficiency, as well as the system's stability and amenability to multiple solution recycling.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA.
authors.forename: Ankita
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Shastri
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA.
authors.forename: Lynn M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: McGregor
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15261, USA.
authors.forename: Ya
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Center for Molecular Design and Biomimetics, The Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona 85287, USA.
authors.forename: Valerie
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Harris
authors.affiliation: Materials Science and Engineering, School for Engineering of Matter, Transport and Energy, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona 85287, USA.
authors.forename: Hanqing
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Nan
authors.affiliation: Materials Science and Engineering, School for Engineering of Matter, Transport and Energy, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona 85287, USA.
authors.forename: Maritza
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mujica
authors.affiliation: 1] Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA [2] School of Engineering and Applied Science, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA.
authors.forename: Yolanda
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Vasquez
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15261, USA.
authors.forename: Amitabh
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bhattacharya
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15261, USA.
authors.forename: Yongting
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.affiliation: Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Aizenberg
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15261, USA.
authors.forename: Olga
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Kuksenok
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15261, USA.
authors.forename: Anna C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Balazs
authors.affiliation: 1] Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA [2] School of Engineering and Applied Science, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA [3] Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA [4] Kavli Institute for Bionano Science and Technology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA.
authors.forename: Joanna
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Aizenberg
authors.affiliation: 1] Center for Molecular Design and Biomimetics, The Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona 85287, USA [2] Materials Science and Engineering, School for Engineering of Matter, Transport and Energy, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona 85287, USA [3] School of Engineering and Applied Science, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA.
authors.forename: Ximin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: He
mesh_terms: D052157:Aptamers, Nucleotide / Q000737:chemistry*; D020100:Hydrogels; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D044085:Microfluidics; D013917:Thrombin / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D052157:Aptamers, Nucleotide; D020100:Hydrogels; D013917:Thrombin