Issue 5, 2022

Peptide epitope-imprinted polymer microarrays for selective protein recognition. Application for SARS-CoV-2 RBD protein

Abstract

We introduce a practically generic approach for the generation of epitope-imprinted polymer-based microarrays for protein recognition on surface plasmon resonance imaging (SPRi) chips. The SPRi platform allows the subsequent rapid screening of target binding kinetics in a multiplexed and label-free manner. The versatility of such microarrays, both as synthetic and screening platform, is demonstrated through developing highly affine molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) for the recognition of the receptor binding domain (RBD) of SARS-CoV-2 spike protein. A characteristic nonapeptide GFNCYFPLQ from the RBD and other control peptides were microspotted onto gold SPRi chips followed by the electrosynthesis of a polyscopoletin nanofilm to generate in one step MIP arrays. A single chip screening of essential synthesis parameters, including the surface density of the template peptide and its sequence led to MIPs with dissociation constants (KD) in the lower nanomolar range for RBD, which exceeds the affinity of RBD for its natural target, angiotensin-convertase 2 enzyme. Remarkably, the same MIPs bound SARS-CoV-2 virus like particles with even higher affinity along with excellent discrimination of influenza A (H3N2) virus. While MIPs prepared with a truncated heptapeptide template GFNCYFP showed only a slightly decreased affinity for RBD, a single mismatch in the amino acid sequence of the template, i.e. the substitution of the central cysteine with a serine, fully suppressed the RBD binding.

Graphical abstract: Peptide epitope-imprinted polymer microarrays for selective protein recognition. Application for SARS-CoV-2 RBD protein

Associated articles

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Edge Article
Submitted
15 8 2021
Accepted
23 11 2021
First published
23 11 2021
This article is Open Access

All publication charges for this article have been paid for by the Royal Society of Chemistry
Creative Commons BY-NC license

Chem. Sci., 2022,13, 1263-1269

Peptide epitope-imprinted polymer microarrays for selective protein recognition. Application for SARS-CoV-2 RBD protein

Z. Bognár, E. Supala, A. Yarman, X. Zhang, F. F. Bier, F. W. Scheller and R. E. Gyurcsányi, Chem. Sci., 2022, 13, 1263 DOI: 10.1039/D1SC04502D

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