Modulation of Gold Nanorod Growth via the Proteolysis of Dithiol Peptides for Enzymatic Biomarker Detection
- 14 September 2021
- journal article
- research article
- Published by American Chemical Society (ACS) in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces
- Vol. 13 (38), 45236-45243
- https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.1c11620
Abstract
Gold nanorods possess optical properties that are tunable and highly sensitive to variations in their aspect ratio (length/width). Therefore, the development of a sensing platform where the gold nanorod morphology (i.e., aspect ratio) is modulated in response to an analyte holds promise in achieving ultralow detection limits. Here, we use a dithiol peptide as an enzyme substrate during nanorod growth. The sensing mechanism is enabled by the substrate design, where the dithiol peptide contains an enzyme cleavage site in-between cysteine amino acids. When cleaved, the peptide dramatically impacts gold nanorod growth and the resulting optical properties. We demonstrate that the optical response can be correlated with enzyme concentration and achieve a 45 pM limit of detection. Furthermore, we extend this sensing platform to colorimetrically detect tumor-associated inhibitors in a biologically relevant medium. Overall, these results present a subnanomolar method to detect proteases that are critical biomarkers found in cancers, infectious diseases, and inflammatory disorders.Funding Information
- National Cancer Institute (T32 CA153915)
- National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (R01 DE031114)
- Achievement Rewards for College Scientists Foundation
- National Science Foundation (DGE-1650112)
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