A magnetoelastic bioaffinity-based sensor for avidin.

A magnetoelastic bioaffinity sensor coupled with biocatalytic precipitation is described for avidin detection. The non-specific adsorption characteristics of streptavidin on different functionalized sensor surfaces are examined. It is found that a biotinylated poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) interface can effectively block non-specific adsorption of proteins. Coupled with the PEG immobilized sensor surface, alkaline phosphatase (AP) labeled streptavidin is used to track specific binding on the sensor. This mass-change-based signal is amplified by the accumulation on the sensor of insoluble products of 5-bromo-4-chloro-3-indolyl phosphate catalyzed by AP. The resulting mass loading on the sensor surface in turn shifts the resonance frequency of the magnetoelastic sensors, with an avidin detection limit of approximately 200 ng/ml.