Signal Enhancement in Ligand-Receptor Interactions using Dynamic Polymers at Quartz Crystal Microbalance Surfaces

The potential for signal amplification on QCM sensors by use of in situ polymerized poly(acrylic acid) brushes has been studied. A biotin derivative was immobilized on these surfaces and the interaction with anti-biotin Fabs was evaluated. Interaction data was found to be specific for the studied binding events, and the level of non-specific binding was shown to be low. The surface was proven to be suitable for regeneration, of importance for biomolecular interaction analysis and repetitive immunoassays. For comparison, the same interaction system was tested using commercial sensor surfaces with carboxylated self-assembled monolayers. The poly(acrylic acid) surface showed a dramatic increase in signal response with more than ten times the signal of the carboxylated self-assembled monolayer surface. Thus, the present study shows that polymers can be successfully applied to amplify responses on QCM sensors, valuable for studies of interactions between receptors and low molecular weight compounds