Grant: Research Tools and Instruments - Category 1 (<$150,000)

The equipment requested in this grant is a Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR) Spectrometer that will ultimately be used in biosensing. Biosensors are a class of device engineered to recognize a target biomolecule in a given environment. The medical community has relied on these sensors for early detection and treatment of disease but biosensors are becoming increasingly attractive for the detection of biological warfare agents. As such, the attributes of a sensor often include miniaturized size, high specificity, multi-functionality and the absence of false positives. With the ever changing requirements of a sensor, new methods for the creation and characterization of the material are ongoing. Typically the bio-recognition event is based on molecular binding with a substrate and surface modification strategies exist to functionalize the material with specific receptor groups. To enhance possible multi-functionality, a variety of receptor groups is desirable and made possible through surface patterning methods. Our research focuses on the use of electrochemical techniques to uniquely design and characterize a surface coated with organic-receptor materials in a patterned geometry. We will combine our experience with surface patterning of bulk surfaces to decorate gold nanoparticles in a similar manner. Coupling the nanoparticles with SPR spectroscopy will enhance our detection schemes beyond typical SPR investigations. The creation of new and improved biosensors may lead to new detection limits and earlier diagnosis and treatment of disease thus having a positive impact on the health and well being of society.