Peptide Cross-Linked Poly(2-oxazoline) as a Sensor Material for the Detection of Proteases with a Quartz Crystal Microbalance

Watkinson

Abstract

Inflammatory conditions are frequently accompanied by increased levels of active proteases, and there is rising interest in methods for their detection to monitor inflammation in a point of care setting. In this work, new sensor materials for disposable single-step protease biosensors based on poly(2-oxazoline) hydrogels cross-linked with a protease-specific cleavable peptide are described. The performance of the sensor material was assessed targeting the detection of matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9), a protease that has been shown to be an indicator of inflammation in multiple sclerosis and other inflammatory conditions. Films of the hydrogel were formed on gold-coated quartz crystals using thiol–ene click chemistry, and the cross-link density was optimized. The degradation rate of the hydrogel was monitored using a quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) and showed a strong dependence on the MMP-9 concentration. A concentration range of 0–160 nM of MMP-9 was investigated, and a lower limit of detection of 10 nM MMP-9 was determined.

Citation

Watkinson. (2019). Peptide Cross-Linked Poly(2-oxazoline) as a Sensor Material for the Detection of Proteases with a Quartz Crystal Microbalance. Biomacromolecules, 2506-2514. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.biomac.9b00245

• Acceptance Date: Jun 7, 2019
• Publication Date: Jul 8, 2019
• Journal: Biomacromolecules
• Print ISSN: 1525-7797
• Publisher: American Chemical Society
• Pages: 2506-2514
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.biomac.9b00245
• Publisher URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acs.biomac.9b00245