Darbo tikslas buvo ištirti nuo pirolo chinolinchinono (PQQ) priklausomų oksidoreduktazių veikimą homogeninėje ir heterogeninėje aplinkose ir jų pagrindu sukurti naujas bioelektrokatalizines sistemas. Tuo tikslu buvo kurtos impedimetrinės ir bioamperometrinės sistemos su nuo PQQ priklausomomis alkoholio (tADH ir mADH), gliukozės (GDH) ir fruktozės (FDH)dehidrogenazėmis naujų elektrodinių medžiagų pagrindu, parenkant optimalų fermento imobilizavimo būdą ir elektronų pernašos (EP) mediatorius. Fermentai ir sistemos tirtos klasikinės elektrochemijos, impedanso spektroskopijos, spektrofotometrijos, atominės jėgos mikroskopijos metodais. Nustatytos tADH ir mADH pKa reikšmės ir EP keliai, pagrindinės bioelektrocheminių sistemų charakteristikos, įvertinta heterogeninės aplinkos įtaka fermentų specifiškumui. Sukurtas imobilizavimo būdas leidžiantis išlaikyti GDH aktyvumą iki 9-ių mėnesių. Pirmą kartą parodyta, jog fermentai gali tiesiogiai re-oksiduotis ant poli - N - (N, N‘- dietil ditiokarbamoil etil amidoetil) – anilino ir grafito produktų. Nustatyta, jog 2-(3-nitro(fenil)amino)- cikloheksa-2,5-dien-1,4-dionas iki 10 kartų pagreitina FDH katalizuojamą fruktozės oksidaciją. Pirmą kartą parodyta, kad bioamperometrinės sistemos su FDH gali oksiduoti D(-)tagatozę. Tyrimų rezultatai pritaikyti kuriant alkoholių, angliavandenių ir anglies monoksido stebėjimo sistemas. / The aim of this work was to study the action of pyrroloquinoline quinone (PQQ) dependent oxidoreductases in homogeneous and heterogeneous ambiences and to create new bioelectrocatalytic systems based on these enzymes. Bioelectrochemical systems with PQQ dependent alcohol (sADH and mADH), glucose (GDH) and fructose (FDH) dehydrogenases were constructed by using new electrode materials, enzyme immobilization techniques and electron transfer (ET) mediators. Enzymes and systems were studied by different electrochemical methods and atomic force microscopy. pKa values and ET pathways in bioelectrochemical systems were determined for sADH and mADH. The main characteristics of systems and influence of heterogeneous ambience to the specificity of the enzymes were determined. The GDH immobilization method, which ensures enzyme activity up to 9 months, was created. The direct ET from reduced enzymes active sites to poly(N-(N’,N’-diethyldithiocarbamoylethylamidoethyl)aniline) and graphite oxidation products was revealed for the first time. It was observed that 2-(3-nitro(phenyl)amino)- ciclohexa-2,5-dien-1,4-dione is the most effective mediator for FDH. The ability of bioamperometric systems with FDH to oxidize D(-)tagatose was determined for the first time. It was shown, that bioamperometric systems based on PQQ dependent enzymes can be applied for detection of alcohols, carbohydrates and carbon monoxide.

Darbo tikslas buvo ištirti nuo pirolo chinolinchinono (PQQ) priklausomų oksidoreduktazių veikimą homogeninėje ir heterogeninėje aplinkose ir jų pagrindu sukurti naujas bioelektrokatalizines sistemas. Tuo tikslu buvo kurtos impedimetrinės ir bioamperometrinės sistemos su nuo PQQ priklausomomis alkoholio (tADH ir mADH), gliukozės (GDH) ir fruktozės (FDH)dehidrogenazėmis naujų elektrodinių medžiagų pagrindu, parenkant optimalų fermento imobilizavimo būdą ir elektronų pernašos (EP) mediatorius. Fermentai ir sistemos tirtos klasikinės elektrochemijos, impedanso spektroskopijos, spektrofotometrijos, atominės jėgos mikroskopijos metodais. Nustatytos tADH ir mADH pKa reikšmės ir EP keliai, pagrindinės bioelektrocheminių sistemų charakteristikos, įvertinta heterogeninės aplinkos įtaka fermentų specifiškumui. Sukurtas imobilizavimo būdas leidžiantis išlaikyti GDH aktyvumą iki 9-ių mėnesių. Pirmą kartą parodyta, jog fermentai gali tiesiogiai re-oksiduotis ant poli - N - (N, N‘- dietil ditiokarbamoil etil amidoetil) – anilino ir grafito produktų. Nustatyta, jog 2-(3-nitro(fenil)amino)- cikloheksa-2,5-dien-1,4-dionas iki 10 kartų pagreitina FDH katalizuojamą fruktozės oksidaciją. Pirmą kartą parodyta, kad bioamperometrinės sistemos su FDH gali oksiduoti D(-)tagatozę. Tyrimų rezultatai pritaikyti kuriant alkoholių, angliavandenių ir anglies monoksido stebėjimo sistemas. / The aim of this work was to study the action of pyrroloquinoline quinone (PQQ) dependent oxidoreductases in homogeneous and heterogeneous ambiences and to create new bioelectrocatalytic systems based on these enzymes. Bioelectrochemical systems with PQQ dependent alcohol (sADH and mADH), glucose (GDH) and fructose (FDH) dehydrogenases were constructed by using new electrode materials, enzyme immobilization techniques and electron transfer (ET) mediators. Enzymes and systems were studied by different electrochemical methods and atomic force microscopy. pKa values and ET pathways in bioelectrochemical systems were determined for sADH and mADH. The main characteristics of systems and influence of heterogeneous ambience to the specificity of the enzymes were determined. The GDH immobilization method, which ensures enzyme activity up to 9 months, was created. The direct ET from reduced enzymes active sites to poly(N-(N’,N’-diethyldithiocarbamoylethylamidoethyl)aniline) and graphite oxidation products was revealed for the first time. It was observed that 2-(3-nitro(phenyl)amino)- ciclohexa-2,5-dien-1,4-dione is the most effective mediator for FDH. The ability of bioamperometric systems with FDH to oxidize D(-)tagatose was determined for the first time. It was shown, that bioamperometric systems based on PQQ dependent enzymes can be applied for detection of alcohols, carbohydrates and carbon monoxide.

The full exploitation of bacterial whole-cell biosensing systems in field applications requires the survival of bacterial cells and long term-preservation of their sensing ability during transportation and on-site storage of such analytical systems. Specifically, there is a need for rapid, simple and inexpensive biosensing systems for monitoring human health and the environment in remote areas which often suffer from harsh atmospheric conditions and inadequate commercial distribution and storage facilities. Our laboratory has previously reported the successful use of bacterial spores as vehicles for the long-term preservation and storage of whole-cell biosensing systems at room temperature. In the present research, we have accomplished a year-long study to investigate the effect of extreme climatic conditions on the stability of spores-based whole-cell biosensing systems. The spores were stored in laboratory conditions that simulated those found in real harsh environments and germination ability and analytical performance of the spore-based sensing systems upon storage in such conditions was monitored. Our results proved that the intrinsic resistance of spores to harsh environmental conditions helped maintain the integrity of the sensor bacteria. The revived active cells actually retained their analytical performance during the course of the twelve-month storage study.

Surface plasmon waves are TM polarized charge density waves that propagate at the interface of two media with real dielectric constants of opposite sign (i.e. liquid dielectric and certain metals). Surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensors use these waves to detect refractive index changes adjacent to the metal layer. Refractive index changes arise from the binding of an analyte (e.g. a target molecule, protein, or bacterium) to the functionalized metal layer or from interfering effects such as changes in solution index. Standard, single channel SPR sensors cannot differentiate these two effects as their design allows only one mode to be coupled. This novel self-referencing technique employs two surface plasmon modes to simultaneously measure surface binding and solution refractive index. Dual surface plasmon modes are achieved by matching the refractive indices on either side of the metal film. The two modes generated - symmetric, long-range surface plasmon (LRSP) and anti-symmetric, short-range surface plasmon (SRSP) - have different field profiles and hence assist in differentiating solution refractive index changes from surface layer formation. Amorphous Teflon, with a refractive index close to water, is chosen as the buffer layer and gold is chosen as the metal layer. Magnesium fluoride, with a higher index than Teflon, is used as the buffer layer when using ethanol as the base solution. The sensor operation was optimized through simulations to yield higher sensitivity, lower reflectivity and resonances within the spectrometers range. Optimization results showed good performance over a wide range for Teflon, MgF2 and gold thicknesses which helped in the fabrication of the sensor. Demonstration of self-referencing operation was done through two different sets of experiments: (1) formation of an alkanethiol self-assembled monolayer on gold in the presence of ethanol and methanol solutions having different refractive indices and (2) streptavidin-biotin binding with solutions of different NaCl concentration and thus different refractive indices. In both these experiments, the resonance wavelengths were accurately predicted, reflectivity varied by 10-15% and sensitivity by 25% from that of the simulated values.

Surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensors are advantageous to other techniques of sensing chemical binding, offering quantitative, real-time, label-free results. Previous work has demonstrated the effectiveness of using dual-mode SPR sensors to differentiate between surface and background effects, making the sensors more robust to dynamic environments. This work demonstrates a technique that improves upon a previously optimized planar film dual-mode SPR sensor’s LOD by introducing a periodic array of subwavelength nano-gaps throughout the plasmon supporting material. First, general figures of merit for a sensor having an arbitrary number of modes are studied. Next, the mode effective index dispersion and magnetic field profiles of the two strongly bound modes found using a gap width of 20nm are analyzed. Qualitative analysis of the results demonstrates how such a design can enable better LODs in terms of each figure of merit. By optimizing a nano-gap enhanced sensor containing 20nm gaps, it is quantitatively demonstrated that the resulting modes improve upon almost every figure of merit, especially with respect to the orthogonality and magnitude of the sensitivity vectors, resulting in LODs approximately a factor of five less than the optimal planar design.

The successful fabrication and characterization of two chemiresistive platforms for biomolecule detection was demonstrated by this work. The Si/Silica based single walled nanotube thin film (SWNTTF) platform was developed to understand the effect of device geometry on pH and M13 bacteriophage sensing capabilities as well as the underlying mechanisms governing SWNTTF chemiresistive biosensors. The dominant mechanism of sensing switched from direct chemical doping to electrostatic gating when the target analyte changed from H+/OH- ions in pH testing to whole viruses. The experimental limit of detection for M13 for this platform was 0.5pM and an increased sensitivity as well as variability was observed in devices with smaller channel widths. Preliminary device calibration was completed in order to correlate a resistance response to a bulk M13 concentration. The polyethylene terephthalate (PET) based SWNTTF platform was developed to demonstrate the commercial potential of SWNTTF chemiresistive biosensors by detecting relevant concentrations of brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) on economically viable substrates. The pH response of these chemiresistors confirmed that chemical doping was the cause for resistance change in the SWNTTFs. The preliminary results demonstrated successful BNP detection at 50pg/mL using both aptamers and antibodies as recognition elements. Using SWNTTFs as the transducing element of chemiresistors allowed for further understanding of electrical mechanisms of sensing as well as achieving sensitive, real-time and reproducible electrical virus and biomolecule detection. Although these platforms do not achieve ultrasensitive limits of detection, they demonstrate the commercial potential of platforms using SWNTTFs as the transducing element of electrical biomolecule sensors.

This work has explored the capability of a mixed film composed of oligonucleotides and oligomers to improve the selectivity for the detection of fully complementary oligonucleotide targets in comparison to partially complementary targets which have one and three base-pair mismatched sites. The intention was to introduce a “matrix isolation” effect on oligonucleotide probe molecules by surrounding the probes with oligomers, thereby reducing oligonucleotide-to-oligonucleotide and/or oligonucleotide-to-surface interactions. This resulted in a more homogeneous environment for probes, thereby minimizing the dispersity of energetics associated with formation of double-stranded hybrids. The mixed film was constructed by immobilizing pre-synthesized oligonucleotides onto a mixed aminosilane layer and then growing the oligomer portion by surface-initiated atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) of 2-hydroxy methacrylate (PHEMA). The performance of the mixed film was compared to films composed of only oligonucleotides in a series of hybridization and melt curve experiments. Surface characterization techniques were used to confirm the growth of the oligomer portion as well as the presence of both oligonucleotides and oligomer components. Polyatomic bismuth cluster ions as sources for time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry experiments could detect both components of the mixed film at a high sensitivity even though the oligomer portion was at least 200-fold in excess. At the various ionic strengths investigated, the mixed films were found to increase the selectivity for fully complementary targets over mismatched targets by increasing the sharpness of melt curves and melting temperature differences (delta Tm) by 2- to 3-fold, and by reducing non-specific adsorption. This resulted in improved resolution between the melt curves of fully and partially complementary targets. A fluorescence lifetime investigation of the Cy3 emission demonstrated that Cy3-labeled oligonucleotide probes experienced a more rigid microenvironment in the mixed films. These experiments demonstrated that a mixed film composed of oligonucleotides and PHEMA can be prepared on silica-based substrates, and that they can improve the selectivity for SNP discrimination compared to conventional oligonucleotide films.

Point-of-care testing (POCT) devices have received increasing attention because of their potential to address the urgent need for quick and accurate diagnostic tools, especially in areas of personal care and clinical medicine. They offer several benefits over current diagnostic systems, including rapid diagnostic results in comparison to microbial cultures, simple interpretation of results, portability, and requiring no specialised laboratory equipment or technical training to operate. These are essential for diagnosing critical illnesses, such as sepsis, in areas of poor healthcare infrastructure. Sepsis, an innate physiological response to infection, is a growing problem worldwide with high associated costs and mortality rates, and affects a wide range of patients including neonates, infants, the elderly, and immunocompromised individuals. A literature review of the biomarkers of sepsis and the currently available diagnostic systems indicates the need for a biosensor capable of meeting the requirements of designing POCT systems and achieving detection of low concentrations of biomarkers. To meet these demands, two significant contributions to developing POCT platforms have been achieved and described in this thesis, including: 1) development of a colorimetric, magnetically separable biosensor that can be easily fabricated and demonstrates an easily identifiable colour response upon analyte detection, as well as the ability to capture and detection target biomarkers at low concentrations from complex solutions; and 2) tuning of the biosensor’s colorimetric response to achieve low detection limits, as well as demonstration of the versatility of the biosensor for sensing different target analytes. The developed biosensor in this work combines colour responsive polydiacetylenes and superparamagnetic iron oxide for the first time to achieve a biosensor capable of meeting these demands. The sensors exhibit identifiable colour responses to biomolecule detection, capture of a target analyte from complex solutions, sensing of different target analytes, a lower detection limit of 0.01 mg/mL, and rapid separation from solution with a common magnet. This work has been a significant demonstration of the capabilities of this biosensor as a new platform for POCT systems to diagnosis sepsis, and potentially other sensing applications.

In the recent years, environmental pollution becomes a health threatening issue for human beings. Technological developments introduce industrial wastes and heavy metals, and developments in agriculture introduce pesticides into the world that we live. All these toxic wastes accumulate in drinking water and food consumed by humans. Therefore, detection of toxic wastes in all kinds of environmental samples, and development of new detection techniques become an important issue. In this study, development of a protein-based biosensor for detection of heavy metals in environmental samples, by expressing genetically modified glutathione S-transferase (GST-(His)6) protein in E.Coli BL21 (DE3) expression system, was designed. Recombinant GST proteins was expressed in E.Coli BL21 (DE3) expression system and purified with Glutathione Sepharose 4B affinity column and Ni-NTA spin kit. GST activities were determined using the GST substrate 1-chloro-2,4-dinitrobenzene (CDNB). Protein expression was tested by SDS-PAGE and Western blot analysis. Product formation linearly increased up to 1 mM CDNB, 1 mM GSH, 1.7 &micro / g proteins in 0.05 M, pH 6.9 phosphate buffer in the final volume of 1.0 ml at 25&amp / #9702 / C. The Vmax and Km values for GST-(His)6 towards CDNB and GSH were calculated with Lineweaver-Burk as CDNB Vmax / 22.88 &micro / mol/min/mg, Km / 4.29 mM,and as GSH Vmax / 6.42 &micro / mol/min/mg, 24.45 &micro / mol/min/mg, Km / 3.69 mM, respectively. Biosensor working electrode was prepared by immobilizing the GST-(His)6 by 1-(3-dimethylaminopropyl)-3-ethyl-carbodiimide hydrochloride (EDC) coupling on the gold surface. Electrode preparation was confirmed by cyclic voltammetry measurements. The biosensor was inserted as the working electrode in the constructed three(four)-electrode flow cell. The conformational change resulting from the binding of the metal ions to the recombinant protein causing a capacitance change proportional to the concentration of the metal ions was determined. After the working electrode is standardized and calibrated, the heavy metal concentration in water samples was measured. The GST-(His)6 biosensor has a large operational range between 1 fM and 10 mM and a storage stability of approximately 2 weeks. The GST-(His)6 biosensor is very sensitive to, Cu+2&gt / Cd+2&gt / Zn+2&gt / Hg+2 metal ions, at low concentrations.

The synthesis and biological sensing applications of novel water soluble poly(para-phenyleneethynylene)s (PPEs) are presented. The ease of synthesis, synthetic variability, and dramatic chromicity of PPEs makes them well suited for biological and sensing applications. Molecular recognition and signal transduction can be achieved by using PPEs as sensory materials. By incorporating biological functional groups (e.g. sugars), PPEs can efficiently detect the presence of toxic heavy metals, proteins, and bacteria through either fluorescence quenching or enhancement. Rapid, precise, and convenient sensory arrays for the detection of biological analytes are possible through the formation of gold nanoparticle-PPE constructs.