Final Report Summary - RECEPTRONICS (Label Free Biomolecular Detectors: at the Convergence of Bioengineered Receptors and Microelectronics)
The project has focused on the merging of several technologies aimed at realising a new approach to detecting single target molecules, a very challenging task for a large variety of applications. However, the insights gained during the development of the RECEPTRONICS technology were extremely significant.
Main results of the first year of the project included the validation of synthetic fusion protein design principle. Natural ion channels were artificially coupled with specific receptors. The resulting protein does not exist in living beings, but it can be used to naturally detect target substances at molecular level. Researchers designed and tested several approaches to electrically address arrays of artificial lipid bilayers and methods for delivering fusion proteins into them.
The design was driven by the need to achieve high reliability and reproducibility for industrial applications. Structures with a yield of about 90 % have been preliminary demonstrated in the project. Partners designed and tested an extremely compact electronic system for single molecule event detection. The system, as large as a credit card, is the first step for designing efficient and integrated electronics for interfacing bionanosystems.
Data acquisition and statistical elaboration of molecular signals was needed since molecular signalling is intrinsically stochastic and it should be treated with proper tools. Precision below 1 % of accuracy for ion channel open probability could be achieved with developed algorithms.
Main results of the second year of the project included single molecule events recorded on arrays of electrically addressable micro- and nano-spots using state-of-the-art laboratory instrumentation. The above technologies were consolidated in order to achieve more robust testing data and yield. A new generation of synthetic receptors was based on the tandem principle to new target molecules and constructs. Partners also consolidated the reading out architecture based on sigma-delta amplifiers interfaced to digital signal processing (DSP).
Main results of the third year of the project included the optimisation of receptor bioengineering procedures, thus reducing overall development time (few weeks instead of few months) with respect to target molecules. A paper on this methodology has been published in the scientific journal Nature Nanotechnology. The array of the artificial lipid bilayers was been completely redesigned using a new in-house glass technology to better interface with electronics The silicon chip was designed and successfully tested. Results have shown performances that are very close to those given by state-of-the-art bulky instruments.
The readout electronic system achieved a definitive configuration. Using the developed platform it was possible to acquire and store concurrently up to twelve independent sites on a personal computer (PC). The system was cross-platform and can be used with any version of the boards (BoardA, BoardB v1.0 and v2.0) developed in the project. The ongoing status of the project can be found in the website: http://www.receptronics.org.
Main results of the first year of the project included the validation of synthetic fusion protein design principle. Natural ion channels were artificially coupled with specific receptors. The resulting protein does not exist in living beings, but it can be used to naturally detect target substances at molecular level. Researchers designed and tested several approaches to electrically address arrays of artificial lipid bilayers and methods for delivering fusion proteins into them.
The design was driven by the need to achieve high reliability and reproducibility for industrial applications. Structures with a yield of about 90 % have been preliminary demonstrated in the project. Partners designed and tested an extremely compact electronic system for single molecule event detection. The system, as large as a credit card, is the first step for designing efficient and integrated electronics for interfacing bionanosystems.
Data acquisition and statistical elaboration of molecular signals was needed since molecular signalling is intrinsically stochastic and it should be treated with proper tools. Precision below 1 % of accuracy for ion channel open probability could be achieved with developed algorithms.
Main results of the second year of the project included single molecule events recorded on arrays of electrically addressable micro- and nano-spots using state-of-the-art laboratory instrumentation. The above technologies were consolidated in order to achieve more robust testing data and yield. A new generation of synthetic receptors was based on the tandem principle to new target molecules and constructs. Partners also consolidated the reading out architecture based on sigma-delta amplifiers interfaced to digital signal processing (DSP).
Main results of the third year of the project included the optimisation of receptor bioengineering procedures, thus reducing overall development time (few weeks instead of few months) with respect to target molecules. A paper on this methodology has been published in the scientific journal Nature Nanotechnology. The array of the artificial lipid bilayers was been completely redesigned using a new in-house glass technology to better interface with electronics The silicon chip was designed and successfully tested. Results have shown performances that are very close to those given by state-of-the-art bulky instruments.
The readout electronic system achieved a definitive configuration. Using the developed platform it was possible to acquire and store concurrently up to twelve independent sites on a personal computer (PC). The system was cross-platform and can be used with any version of the boards (BoardA, BoardB v1.0 and v2.0) developed in the project. The ongoing status of the project can be found in the website: http://www.receptronics.org.
