Sensing biotin

Lee G U, Kidwell D A and Colton R J 1994 Sensing discrete streptavidin-biotin interactions with atomic force microscopy Langmuir 10 354... 

Based on IgG-bearing beads, a chemiluminescent immuno-biochip has been also realized for the model detection of human IgG. Biotin-labeled antihuman IgG were used in a competitive assay, in conjunction with peroxidase labelled streptavidin59. In that case, the planar glassy carbon electrode served only as a support for the sensing layer since the light signal came from the biocatalytic activity of horseradish peroxidase. Free antigen could then be detected with a detection limit of 25 pg (108 molecules) and up to 15 ng. 

L. Alfonta, A.K. Singh, and I. Willner, Liposomes labeled with biotin and horseradish peroxidase a probe for the enhanced amplification of antigen-antibody or oligonucleotide-DNA sensing processes by the precipitation of an insoluble product on electrodes. Anal. Chem. 73, 91-102 (2001). 

Fig. 8.20 Experimental sequence of surface sensing (a) The sensor surfaces are functionalized with biotinylated BSA (b) Streptavidin is specifically bound to the sensor surface with the biotin moiety (c) Biotin is captured on the sensor surfaces by the streptavidin...

Biocatalytk decarboxylation is a imique reaction, in the sense that it can be considered to be a protonation reaction to a carbanion equivalent intermediate in aqueous medimn. Thus, if optically active compoimds can be prepared via this type of reaction, it would be a very characteristic biotransformation, as compared to ordinary organic reactions. An enzyme isolated from a specific strain of Alcaligenes bronchisepticus catalyzes the asymmetric decarboxylation of a-aryl-a-methyhnalonic acid to give optically active a-arylpropionic acids. The effect of additives revealed that this enzyme requires no biotin, no co-enzyme A, and no ATP, as ordinary decarboxylases and transcarboxylases do. Studies on inhibitors of this enzyme and spectroscopic analysis made it clear that the Cys residue plays an essential role in the present reaction. The imique reaction mechanism based on these results and kinetic data in its support are presented. 

It is possibly incorrect to consider biotin synthase an enzyme in the true sense of the word it has a turnover number of 1. It only catalyzes the synthesis of a single molecule of biotin from dethiohiotin before being inactivated. This is because the iron-sulfur cluster of the protein is the source of the sulfur that is incorporated into biotin. There is some evidence that the enzyme can be reactivated by incorporation of sulfur from cysteine, but in vitro addition of the enzymes believed to catalyze this reaction has no effect on the turnover number of the enzyme (Frey, 2001 Marquet et al., 2001). 

To demonstrate MT-MEC as a useful platform for protein quantification, a simple surface biotin-avidin assay was constructed[15,16]. In the assay, biotinylated-BSA is incubated on both silvered and glass substrates (Figure 15.5). HRP-streptavidin is then added to the surface, locaiizing the enzyme catalyst in close proximity to the silver for MT-MEC. The peroxide and Acridan (iumophore) are then added to initiate the chemiluminescence reaction. While this assay in essence determines BSA concentration, this model assay could indeed be fashioned to both iocaiize and sense other proteins / DNAs of interest. 

The avidin-biotin procedure has been extensively used in hybridization studies. Since the concentration of all analysed DNAs used is identical, the total concentration of the analysed samples is high. The amplification of the base-mismatch recognition event is necessary to improve sensitivity. The use of oligonucleotide-functionahzed Uposomes or biotin-labelled liposomes as probes for the dendritic amphfication of DNA-sensing processes was characterized by Willner and co-workers [62] and showed better performance using QCM than impedance spectroscopy measurements. 

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