Issue 3, 2023

Discrimination between protein glycoforms using lectin-functionalised gold nanoparticles as signal enhancers

Abstract

Glycoforms (and other post-translational modifications) of otherwise identical proteins can indicate pathogenesis/disease state and hence new tools to detect and sense a protein's glycosylation status are essential. Antibody-based assays against specific protein sequences do not typically discriminate between glycoforms. Here we demonstrate a ‘sandwich’ bio-assay approach, whereby antibodies immobilised onto biolayer interferometry sensors first select proteins, and then the specific glycoform is identified using gold nanoparticles functionalised with lectins which provide signal enhancement. The nanoparticles significantly enhance the signal relative to lectins alone, allowing glycoform specific detection as low as 0.04 μg mL−1 (1.4 nM) in buffer, and crucially there is no need for an enrichment step and all steps can be automated. Proof of concept is demonstrated using prostate specific antigen: a biomarker for prostate cancer, where glycoform analysis could distinguish between cancerous and non-cancerous status, rather than only detecting overall protein concentration.

Graphical abstract: Discrimination between protein glycoforms using lectin-functionalised gold nanoparticles as signal enhancers

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Communication
Submitted
06 10 2022
Accepted
09 1 2023
First published
18 1 2023
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY license

Nanoscale Horiz., 2023,8, 377-382

Discrimination between protein glycoforms using lectin-functionalised gold nanoparticles as signal enhancers

M. M. P. S. Neves, S. Richards, A. N. Baker, M. Walker, P. G. Georgiou and M. I. Gibson, Nanoscale Horiz., 2023, 8, 377 DOI: 10.1039/D2NH00470D

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