Absorbance amplification using chromophore-nanoplasmon coupling for ultrasensitive protein quantification.
A plasmonic nanoscale Lycurgus cup array (nanoLCA), via near-field interaction with chromophores in commercial colorimetric biochemical assays, can drastically enhance assay sensitivity by over 2 orders of magnitude. A 96-microwell plate modified by placing the plasmonic nanoLCA on the well-bottom was used with the commercial Bradford protein quantification assay. Plasmons on the nanoLCA serve as an energy donor to matched resonance chromophores, and the near-field plasmonic energy coupling effect results in an increase in absorbance value at the plasmonic resonance wavelength. Even with a 5.1-fold reduced sample volume, a limit of detection enhancement factor of 200 is accomplished using the nanoLCA compared to using the conventional Bradford assay without plasmon aid. The nanoLCA-microplate sensing platform is readily scalable to 384- or 1536-microwell plates, which further reduces the sensing volume and boosts detection throughput with the enhanced sensitivity.
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign , Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States.|Micro and Nano Technology Laboratory, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign , Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States.
Sujin
S
Seo
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign , Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States.|Micro and Nano Technology Laboratory, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign , Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States.
Lonna
L
Edwards
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign , Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States.|Micro and Nano Technology Laboratory, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign , Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States.
Gang
G
Logan Liu
D000818:Animals; D002417:Cattle; D003124:Colorimetry / Q000295:instrumentation*; D004867:Equipment Design; D049329:Nanostructures / Q000648:ultrastructure; D036103:Nanotechnology / Q000295:instrumentation*; D011506:Proteins / Q000032:analysis*; D012710:Serum Albumin, Bovine / Q000032:analysis; D020349:Surface Plasmon Resonance / Q000295:instrumentation*
D011506:Proteins; D012710:Serum Albumin, Bovine