In Silico-Designed Nanosensors for Biothreat Detection

In this subsequent SBIR Phase II project, Parabon NanoLabs will advance an in silico design (ISD) methodology and supporting design software for the development of DNA origami nanosensors able to detect biothreat agents.In the initial Phase II project, Parabon developed methods for (i) computing the binding interfaces of a target molecule, (ii) determining the optimal binding ligands for these locations, and (iii) designing origami to position these ligands appropriately.The approach was validated by designing and creating two novel nanosensors for detecting streptavidin (SA) and horseradish peroxidase (HRP), respectively.This subsequent Phase II effort will extend the ISD approach to include a larger and more varied set of binding ligands with the goal of increasing nanosensor potential binding affinity for arbitrary molecular targets.Enhanced ISD will be used to design a highly specific nanosensor for detection of an anthrax toxin surrogate, which will be demonstrated in a prototype lateral flow assay (LFA).