Texas Consortium for the Development of Biological Sensors
Abstract
Statement of problem(s): (1) There is a general bottleneck in the development of biosensors for sensor platforms. We undertook to determine whether high-throughput, automated methods could be applied to the development of aptamer and other nucleic acid biosensors. (2) Biosensors typically require immobilization or other complex handling in order to signal the presence of threat agents. For example, PCR frequently requires the extraction of DNA or RNA, sandwich assays require wash steps, and so forth. We were interested in identifying reagents that would react in solution to directly yield signals, or that could be readily mounted on sensor platforms without the need for multiple processing steps. Statement of solution: (1) Under the ARO-MURI, we acquired robotic workstations and developed specialized hardware, soltware, and protocols for the high-throughput selection and arraying of aptamers. We have also developed bioinformatics methods and tools that can be used to handle the large amounts of data that these selections generate. (2) We furthered the development of allosteric nucleic acid enzymes: aptazymes. Aptazymes are unique reagents that can recognize small molecule or protein analytes and convert non-covalent recognition into a change in covalent bond state. These changes in covalent bond state can in turn be directly coupled to optical or other sensor readouts. During the execution of the ARO-MURI we developed a number of aptazymes and adapted them to a number of sensor platforms. Numerous Problem/Solution statements are presented throughout the document.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jun 15, 2005
- Accession Number
- ADA437729
Entities
People
- Andrew D Ellington
Organizations
- University of Texas at Austin