Fabricating a UV-Vis and Raman Spectroscopy Immunoassay Platform

Summary

Nanoparticle-based optical probes have been designed as a vehicle for detecting antigens using Raman and UV-Vis spectroscopy. Here we describe a protocol for preparing such probes for a UV-Vis/Raman spectroscopy immunoassay in such a way to incorporate future multiplexing capabilities.

Abstract

Immunoassays are used to detect proteins based on the presence of associated antibodies. Because of their extensive use in research and clinical settings, a large infrastructure of immunoassay instruments and materials can be found. For example, 96- and 384-well polystyrene plates are available commercially and have a standard design to accommodate ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) spectroscopy machines from various manufacturers. In addition, a wide variety of immunoglobulins, detection tags, and blocking agents for customized immunoassay designs such as enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) are available.

Despite the existing infrastructure, standard ELISA kits do not meet all research needs, requiring individualized immunoassay development, which can be expensive and time-consuming. For example, ELISA kits have low multiplexing (detection of more than one analyte at a time) capabilities as they usually depend on fluorescence or colorimetric methods for detection. Colorimetric and fluorescent-based analyses have limited multiplexing capabilities due to broad spectral peaks. In contrast, Raman spectroscopy-based methods have a much greater capability for multiplexing due to narrow emission peaks. Another advantage of Raman spectroscopy is that Raman reporters experience significantly less photobleaching than fluorescent tags¹. Despite the advantages that Raman reporters have over fluorescent and colorimetric tags, protocols to fabricate Raman-based immunoassays are limited. The purpose of this paper is to provide a protocol to prepare functionalized probes to use in conjunction with polystyrene plates for direct detection of analytes by UV-Vis analysis and Raman spectroscopy. This protocol will allow researchers to take a do-it-yourself approach for future multi-analyte detection while capitalizing on pre-established infrastructure.

Introduction

Typical sandwich immunoassays indirectly detect the presence of an antigen using two antibodies. The capture antibody is bound to a solid surface and forms an antibody-antigen complex when in proximity to an appropriate antigen. A detection antibody is then introduced and binds to the antigen. After washing, the antibody/antigen/antibody complex remains and is detected by the labeled detection antibody as demonstrated in Figure 1A. Typical detection is done by a fluorescent or colorimetric detector, limiting multiplexing to 10 analytes due to broad spectral peaks^2,3. In contrast, Raman-based systems have much narrower emission peaks resulti....

Protocol

1. Preparation of Buffers

1. Phosphate Buffered Saline (PBS)
   1. Dilute 50 ml of 10x PBS with 450 ml HPLC grade water to make a 1x PBS concentration. Sterile filter the solution with a 0.22 µm filter.
   2. Store solution at room temperature.
2. Preparation of Tris Buffered Saline + Tween 20 (TBST)
   1. Dilute 50 ml of 10x Tris Buffered Saline (TBS) with 450 ml HPLC grade water to make a 1x concentration. Add 250 μl of Tween-20 for a 0.05% (v/v) of Tween-20. Sterile filter the solution with a 0.22 μm filter.
   2. Store at room temperature.
3. Preparat....

Results

In this study, 60 nm gold particles were used for UV-Vis spectroscopy. UV-Vis absorption spectra from 400 to 700 nm were collected and the peak areas for each AuNP concentration were determined using an open source spectral analysis software⁸. Prior to peak integration, the collected spectra underwent baseline correction using a three-point polynomial fit. Peak areas were used to generate a logarithmic calibration curve as demonstrated in Figure 4. It should be noted that Figures 4

Discussion

In the detailed protocol, there are several critical points to address. One issue is the choice of Raman reporter and gold nanoparticle. Although the protocol was written to be adapted for individual use, the Raman reporter DTTC was used as an example. DTTC is a positively charged reporter and binds to negatively charged surfaces such as citrate capped AuNPs. This protocol can be adapted for negatively charged reporters by using gold nanoparticles with a positive surface charge. For example, polyethyleneimine (PEI) cappe.......

Materials

List of materials used in this article

Name	Company	Catalog Number	Comments
60 nm Gold Nanoparticle	Ted Pella, Inc.	15708-6	These are citrate capped gold nanoparticles. Please see Discussion for relationship between Raman reporter and AuNP surface charge and its imporance to proper selection of AuNP and/or Raman reporter.
Sodium Bicarbonate	Fisher Scientific	S233-500
Methanol	Pharmco-Aaper	339000000
Tris Buffered Saline (10x) pH 7.5	Scy Tek	TBD999
Bottle Top Filtration Unit	VWR	97066-202
Tween 20 (polysorbate 20)	Scy Tek	TWN500	Used as an emulsifying agent for washing steps.
Phosphate Buffered Saline 10x Concentrate, pH 7.4	Scy Tek	PBD999
Protein LoBind Tube 2.0 ml	Eppendorf Tubes	22431102	LoBind tubes prevent binding of proteins and AuNPs to surfaces of the tubes.
Protein LoBind Tube 0.5 ml	Eppendorf Tubes	22431064	LoBind tubes prevent binding of proteins and AuNPs to surfaces of the tubes.
Microplate Devices UniSeal	GE Healthcare	7704-0001	Used for sealing and storing functionalized plates.
Assay Plate, With Low Evaporation Lid, 96 Well Flat Bottom	Costar	3370
HPLC grade water	Sigma Aldrich	270733-4L
3,3′-Diethylthiatricarbocyanine iodide (DTTC)	Sigma Aldrich	381306-250MG	Raman reporter
mPEG-Thiol, MW 5,000 - 1 gram	Laysan Bio, Inc.	MPEG-SH-5000-1g
OPSS-PEG-SVA, MW 5,000 - 1 gram	Laysan Bio, Inc.	OPSS-PEG-SVA-5000-1g	OPSS-PEG-SVA has an NHS end.
Mouse IgG, Whole Molecule Control	Thermo Fisher Scientific	31903	Antigen
Goat anti-Mouse IgG (H+L) Cross Adsorbed Secondary Antibody	Thermo Fisher Scientific	31164	Antibody
Human Serum Albumin Blocking Solution	Sigma Aldrich	A1887-1G	Bovine serum albumin can be used instead.
Mini Centrifuge	Fisher Schientific	12-006-900
UV-Vis Spectrophotometer	Thermo Scientific	Nanodrop 2000c
UV-Vis Spectrophotometer	BioTek	Synergy 2
Desalting Columns	Thermor Scientific	87766
In-house built 785 nm inverted Raman microscope unit	N/A	N/A	An inverted Raman microscope is best for proper focusing onto surface of the well plate. Otherwise a very low magnification will be used due to height of the 96-well plate. An in-house built system was used as it was cheaper than buying from a vendor. However, any commercially available inverted Raman microscope system can be used.