Fluorogenic Atom Transfer Radical Polymerization as a Strategy for Biomolecular Detection

Abstract

The sensitive detection of analytes is valuable in various chemical and biomedical contexts. This sensitivity can be conferred by signal amplification, where the readout magnifies the signal of an otherwise low level of analyte. The Cooley Lab's approach to signal amplification involves using fluorogenic radical polymerizations, where the polymers' fluorescence is a quantifiable proxy for presence of an analyte. This approach also enables the qualitative appreciation of analyte presence since the fluorescence is visible to the naked eye.In order to use this technology to detect water‐soluble analytes such as biomolecules, we are conjugating the polymerization initiator to a model protein. This involves developing the fluorogenic polymerization in biologically relevant conditions such as an aqueous medium, so that polymers can be grafted directly from the biomolecule. The choice of an atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) facilitates the controllable formation of fluorogenic polymers in aqueous media as a function of both analyte concentration and reaction time. The development of the polymerization towards a biomolecular detection assay will be discussed, with emphasis on optimization of the reaction conditions, synthesis and characterization of biomolecule‐initiator conjugates, and fluorescence detection.Support or Funding InformationSan Antonio Area Foundation, American Chemical Society Petroleum Research Fund, Trinity UniversityThis abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2019 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal.