SENSORS: Biomimetic Interfaces Coupled to Thermotropic Liquid Crystals for Real-Time Biological Sensing

University Of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison WI

Investigators

Abstract

0330333 Abbott This project seeks to develop a fundamentally new approach for real-time sensing of biomolecular interactions. The approach revolves around the design of a biomimetic layer that will be formed at the interface between a micrometer-thick film of liquid crystal and an aqueous phase. The system will be designed such that specific binding events engineered to take place at the interface will be amplified into changes in the orientation of the film of liquid crystal. Whereas the research performed in a previous grant involved the deposition of a film of liquid crystal onto the nanostructured surface of a solid following the capture of the targeted protein on the nanostructured surface (a procedure suitable for use in an assay), the principles to be developed in this project will permit real-time and continuous sensing of biomolecular interactions at biomimetic interfaces. The broader impacts of the proposed project are several-fold. The research described in this proposal is fundamental in nature but possesses the potential to provide the basis of a broad and general technology for biological sensing. Such a technology could be of substantial utility in a number of contexts. For example, detection of protein toxins could be broadly useful for monitoring the security of our water supply at a cost and level of complexity that is substantially lower than existing technologies. In addition, this project is occurring in the context of two active educational programs at University of Wisconsin: these programs train graduate students at the intersection of the disciplines of Chemical Engineering and Biomolecular Chemistry, and include outreach to the undergraduate population at University of Wisconsin, local colleges, as well as the general public.