Lectin-Carbohydrate Biosensor for Rapid Microorganism Detection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for bacterial detection are time-consuming, require high user expertise, and are costly, with existing rapid methods suffering from low stability of antibody and DNA recognition elements, and limited sensitivity and specificity.
Innovation Solution
A method involving a solid substrate with a covalently bound capture agent having a saccharide moiety and an unbound lectin that binds to both the substrate and the microorganism, allowing for the attachment of microorganisms to the substrate for detection using biosensors like QCM or SPR devices.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional methods (plating and culturing, biochemical tests) are used for bacterial detection, then reliability is improved, but detection time increases significantly (1-2 days)
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces conventional mechanical/cultural detection methods with a biosensor-based system that uses lectin-carbohydrate binding interactions. The lectin is immobilized on a solid substrate (such as a quartz crystal microbalance or surface plasmon resonance sensor), and bacterial detection is achieved through direct binding interactions, eliminating the need for prolonged culturing and manual observation steps.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces lectin as an intermediary molecule that mediates between the bacterial target and the detection system. The lectin specifically binds to carbohydrate structures on the bacterial surface, serving as a recognition element that enables rapid and specific detection without requiring complex sample preparation or cultural conditions.
2Productivity
If immunosensors or DNA chips are used for rapid detection, then detection speed is improved, but device complexity and cost increase due to high user expertise requirements and expensive labeling reagents
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs lectin, a stable protein that does not require expensive labeling reagents or complex instrumentation. The lectin can be immobilized on simple solid substrates, creating a cost-effective detection system that avoids the high costs associated with antibody-based immunosensors or DNA chips. The system is designed to be user-friendly, reducing the need for specialized expertise.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the recognition mechanism from antibody-antigen or DNA-complementarity binding to lectin-carbohydrate binding. This parameter change enables rapid detection without requiring the complex labeling and signal amplification steps needed in immunosensors or DNA chips, thereby simplifying the device and reducing operational complexity.
3Measurement precision
If fluorescence labeling is used for detection in carbohydrate and lectin arrays, then detection capability is improved, but non-specific binding increases and background fluorescence produces false positives
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the detection readout from fluorescence-based methods and replaces it with label-free detection using biosensors such as quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) or surface plasmon resonance (SPR). This eliminates the introduction of fluorescent labels that cause non-specific binding and background interference, while maintaining high detection precision through direct measurement of mass or refractive index changes upon lectin-bacterial binding.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach provides a rapid, quantitative, and specific method for bacterial detection with enhanced sensitivity and specificity, capable of detecting a few hundred bacterial cells over a wide linear range, overcoming challenges of non-specific binding and antigenic variation.
Implementation Method 1
an unbound lectin capable of binding to the microorganism and to the saccharide moiety of the capture agent; and applying the sample and a lectin to the substrate with the capture agent having the saccharide moiety, for a time to bind the lectin to the saccharide moiety of the capture agent, and the lectin to the microorganism to attach the microorganism to the solid substrate
Implementation Method 2
detecting the microorganism attached to the solid substrate with the biosensor device
Implementation Method 3
providing (1) a biosensor device for detecting the microorganism in the sample comprising a solid substrate
Data Source
AI summary
Methods of binding and detecting a microorganism on a solid substrate. The microorganism is bound on a solid substrate covalently bound to a capture agent having a saccharide moiety. A lectin capable of binding to the microorganism and the saccharide moiety of the capture agent is added to the sample to bind the microorganism on the solid substrate. Further provided are biosensor devices, such as a quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) device or a surface plasmon resonance (SPR) device, that incorporate the solid substrate for the detection of microorganisms.