Michael S Strano
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA
Title: Label-free lectin microarrays using fluorescent carbon nanotube sensors: Towards rapid glycan characterization and synthetic lectin design
Biography
Biography: Michael S Strano
Abstract
Label-free lectin microarrays are a promising approach to rapidly characterize glycoprotein mixtures. However, to date, demonstrations of highly multiplexed label-free lectin microarrays have been limited. Our group uses near-infrared fluorescent single-walled carbon nanotubes to design glycan-responsive sensors capable of massive multiplexing and real-time detection for incorporation into a label-free lectin microarray. We employ two strategies for the design of our carbon nanotube sensors. The first design platform uses a His-tagged lectin that has been tethered to the nanotube via a Cu2+/NTA linker. We have demonstrated responsivity of these sensors to a variety of natural glycoproteins and to neoglycoproteins constructed from streptavidin and biotinylated sugars. Our second detection platform is based on Corona Phase Molecular Recognition (CoPhMoRe), a technology developed by our group at MIT whereby synthetic, non-biological recognition sites are created from the three-dimensional structure of a carbon nanotube and adsorbed heteropolymer. We have developed CoPhMoRe-based sensors for a variety of molecule types including carbohydrates, resulting in the creation of synthetic lectins capable of being incorporated into the label-free microarray. These sensors, along with a binding kinetic model that we developed, are capable of quantitatively characterizing glycoprotein mixtures at a much shorter time scale than existing characterization techniques. This technology has the potential to address longstanding problems in the fields of biopharmaceutical process analytics and medical diagnostics.
