Optimization of Fc-Thiolate SAMs for Electrochemically Mediated Bacterial Biosensors
Authors: Singh Raunak , Marenco Armando J. , Renaud-Young Margaret Mary , Birss Viola Ingrid 
Published: May 2020

Alkanethiol Self-Assembled Monolayers (SAMs), typically deposited on Au substrates, have been commonly utilized to immobilize receptor biomolecules in the construction of a variety of biosensors, such as the detection of glucose oxidase by the immobilization of calixarenes thiols 1. The appeal of using SAMs derives from their ease of fabrication and component flexibility, allowing for more than one alkanethiol to be deposited in a single monolayer. This results in the formation of SAMs in which each thiol component adds a different property or role, thus introducing versatility to the construction and operation of resulting sensors 2.

In our recent work, alkanethiol SAMs, composed of three different thiol molecules, were constructed for use as an electrochemical Toll-Like Receptor 4 (TLR4)-based sensor that can detect Gram-negative bacteria. TLRs are a family of immunoproteins in the innate immune system, which are able to detect a broad category of pathogens, rather than specific targets, as is the case with the adaptive system (e.g., antibodies). In our published work 3, SAMs consisted of a carboxylic acid terminated thiol that allowed for the conversion to a nitrilotriacetic (NTA) group. This moiety could then chelate a Ni2+ cation, followed by attachment of the TLR4 immunoprotein via its His-tag. The second thiol in the SAM contained a terminal ferrocene (Fc) group, where the Fc group was bound to the C11 chain via an amide group. Here, the Fc group serves as a mediator for charge transfer between ferrocyanide in solution and the Au substrate, resulting in relatively high current signals, thus making the sensor potentially field deployable. The third thiol in these SAMs was a hydroxy-terminated thiol, added as a diluent between the immobilized TLR4 receptors. SAMs were prepared by co-deposition on sputter Au on glass.

Electrochemical testing involved cyclic voltammetry (CV) studies in pH 7 buffer solution in order to determine the amount of Fc-thiol present, as well as CV and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) studies in ferrocyanide solutions to examine its redox-mediation response and to obtain a measure of the charge transfer rate. In the presence of lysed bacteria, the immobilized TLR4 dimerizes, which blocks electrochemical mediation between ferrocyanide and the surface bound Fc. This results in an increase in RCT which is our biosensor signal. However, a key problem with these sensors is that their RCT increased with electrochemical testing in the absence of lysed bacteria, producing signal drift. Thus, in the present work, the reasons for sensor signal drift and methods to overcome it were explored.

It was found in recent work that the drift of the full TLR4 sensor was correlated with the loss in the Fc redox signal, although it was not clear if underlying SAM was at the root of the problem. If so, then it was necessary to determine if the loss in the Fc redox activity was caused by the physical loss of the Fc thiol from the Au surface or deactivation of the Fc surface complex and/or its electrochemistry. To determine which of these options was responsible for signal drift, the relative % v/v fraction of the three thiols was varied, and in later work, based on chemical considerations, the Fc molecule containing an amide group was replaced with a C11 chain bonded directly to the Fc. It was found that this latter strategy led to a very stable SAM, showing negligible drift in the Fc CV charges and in the RCT values in ferrocyanide solutions, with or without the TLR4 receptor attached on the outer surface of the SAM.

This presentation will focus on presenting the electrochemistry of the various binary and ternary thiol SAMs investigated in this work and examining the Fc CV peak charges, potential, and kinetics, as well as the double layer capacitance, to better understand how and why the Fc redox response was stabilized. This is important because this correlates directly with the stability of the TLR4/Gram-negative bacteria sensor, as will be demonstrated for a TLR2 biosensor tested against Gram-positive bacteria cell wall ligands.

References

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