Surface plasmon resonance as a tool for investigation of non-covalent nanoparticle interactions in heterogeneous self-assembly & disassembly systems

• Published in: Biosensors & bioelectronics 2017-02, Vol.88, p.3-8
• Main Authors: Shevchenko, Konstantin G., Cherkasov, Vladimir R., Tregubov, Andrey A., Nikitin, Petr I., Nikitin, Maxim P.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animals; Assembly; Biocomputing; Cattle; Chloramphenicol - chemistry; Computers, Molecular; Disassembly; Dismantling; Gold; Gold - chemistry; Gold nanoparticles; Immobilized Proteins - chemistry; Kinetics; Metal Nanoparticles - chemistry; Metal Nanoparticles - ultrastructure; Molecular logic-gates; Monitors; Nanoparticles; Nanostructure; Self assembly; Serum Albumin, Bovine - chemistry; Smart materials; Surface plasmon resonance; Surface Plasmon Resonance - methods; Surface Properties
• ISSN: 0956-5663; 1873-4235
• DOI: 10.1016/j.bios.2016.09.042

Biomolecule-driven assembly of nanoparticles is a powerful and convenient approach for development of advanced nanosensors and theranostic agents with diverse “on-demand” composition and functionality. While a lot of research is being devoted to fabrication of such agents, the development of non-invasive analytical tools to monitor self-assembly/disassembly processes in real-time substantially lags behind. Here, we demonstrate the capabilities of localized surface plasmon resonance (SPR) phenomenon to study non-covalent interactions not just between plasmonic particles, but between gold nanoparticles (AuNP) and non-plasmonic ones. We show its potential to investigate assembly and performance of a novel type of advanced smart materials, namely, biocomputing agents. These agents, self-assembled from nanoparticles via biomolecular interfaces such as proteins, DNA, etc., can analyze presence of biomolecular inputs according to Boolean logic and undergo the input-induced disassembly in order to implement the proper output action. Using UV–Vis spectroscopy to monitor the assembly/disassembly processes of the basic YES-gate structure that consists of a polymer core particle with a multitude of associated gold nanoparticles, we found that the structure transformations are well-characterized by pronounced difference in SPR spectral band position (shifting up to 50nm). This SPR shift correlates remarkably well with biochemical estimation of the assembly/disassembly extent, and can provide valuable real-time kinetic analysis. We believe that the obtained data can be easily extended to other non-plasmonic nanoparticle systems having similar chemical and colloidal properties. SPR method can become a valuable addition to analytical toolbox for characterization of self-assembled smart nanosystems used in biosensing, imaging, controlled release and other applications. •Surface plasmon resonance (SPR) extended to study assembly of novel smart materials.•SPR active component is used to track assembly/disassembly of heterogeneous agents.•Biocomputing structures were assembled with gold and magnetic nanoparticles.•Real-time assembly/disassembly kinetics of YES-logic gating structure acquired.