SURFACE-ENHANCED RAMAN IMMUNOSENSORS

THIS RESEARCH WILL DEVELOP IMMUNOSPECIFIC SENSORS FOR USE WITH SURFACE-ENHANCED RAMAN (SER) SPECTROSCOPY FOR A DIRECT APPROACH TO IMMUNOASSAY. THE PHASE I OBJECTIVE IS TO DEMONSTRATE THAT SUFFICIENT DIFFERENCES EXIST BETWEEN SER SPECTRA OF AN ANTIBODY (AB) MOLECULE, ITS COMPLEMENTARY ANTIGEN (AG), AND THE AB/AG COMPLEX TO PROVIDE A BASIS FOR DEVELOPMENT OF SER IMMUNOSENSORS. THE EXPERIMENTAL PROGRAM CONSISTS OF THREE TASKS: (1) EVALUATE THE SER SPECTRA OF INDIVIDUAL ABS AND THEIR AGS ABSORBED ONTO SURFACES THAT GIVE ENHANCED RAMAN ACTIVITY, (2) EVALUATE SER SPECTRA OF AB/AG COMPLEXES TO IDENTIFY UNIQUE SPECTRAL FEATURES ASSOCIATED WITH THE COMPLEX, AND (3) EVALUATE SER SPECTRA OF ABS LINKED TO SER SUBSTRATE WHILE BEING EXPOSED TO SOLUTION CONTAINING COMPLEMENTARY AG.IN SITU OBSERVATION OF SPECTRAL CHANGES DURING AB/AG BINDINGWOULD PROVIDE AN ADDITIONAL MODE OF ANALYSIS AS WELL AS INFORMATION REGARDING THE KINETICS OF AB/AG COMPLEX FORMATION. THE SPECTROSCOPIC APPROACH TO IMMUNOASSAY PROVIDES INSTANTANEOUS MEASUREMENT OF AB/AG BINDING AND REAGENTLESS OPERATION AND IS APPLICABLE TO ANY ANALYSIS FOR WHICH A SPECIFIC AB CAN BE MADE AND FOR WHICH A COMPLEXING EVENT CAN BE RECORDED BY RAMAN SPECTROSCOPY.