Issue 7, 2014

Time-resolved botulinum neurotoxin A activity monitored using peptide-functionalized Au nanoparticle energy transfer sensors

Abstract

We report herein on the employment of synthetic peptide-functionalized gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) with various diameters as radiative quenchers for the time-resolved monitoring of botulinum A light chain (BoLcA) activity. The results demonstrate that larger AuNPs provide higher energy transfer efficiencies between the dye and the AuNPs, but poorer BoLcA activities for the proteolysis of peptides because of steric constraints. The initial turnover number for the BoLcA proteolysis of peptides on 18 nm AuNPs was retarded by a factor of 80 as compared with 1.4 nm AuNPs. A similar phenomenon has been observed for trypsin, however, with less hindrance on large AuNPs. Thus, the use of smaller 1.4 nm AuNPs in conjunction with robust synthetic peptides provides an attractive format for the time-resolved monitoring of protease activity and for BoLcA sensing at a highly competitive limit of detection (1 pM).

Graphical abstract: Time-resolved botulinum neurotoxin A activity monitored using peptide-functionalized Au nanoparticle energy transfer sensors

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Edge Article
Submitted
03 Dec 2013
Accepted
25 Feb 2014
First published
26 Feb 2014
This article is Open Access

All publication charges for this article have been paid for by the Royal Society of Chemistry
Creative Commons BY license

Chem. Sci., 2014,5, 2651-2656

Author version available

Time-resolved botulinum neurotoxin A activity monitored using peptide-functionalized Au nanoparticle energy transfer sensors

Y. Wang, X. Liu, J. Zhang, D. Aili and B. Liedberg, Chem. Sci., 2014, 5, 2651 DOI: 10.1039/C3SC53305K

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Licence. You can use material from this article in other publications without requesting further permissions from the RSC, provided that the correct acknowledgement is given.

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