Sculpting nanoparticle dynamics for single-bacteria-level screening and direct binding-efficiency measurement

• Published in: Nature communications Vol. 9; no. 1; pp. 815 - 11
• Main Authors: Shi, Y. Z., Xiong, S., Zhang, Y., Chin, L. K., Chen, Y. –Y., Zhang, J. B., Zhang, T. H., Ser, W., Larrson, A., Lim, S. H., Wu, J. H., Chen, T. N., Yang, Z. C., Hao, Y. L., Liedberg, B., Yap, P. H., Wang, K., Tsai, D. P., Qiu, C.-W., Liu, A. Q.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 26-02-2018; Nature Publishing Group; Nature Portfolio
• Subjects: 13; 13/1; 13/62; 631/1647; 639/624/1107/1110; 639/624/1111/1117; Antibodies; Bacteria; Binding; Biomedical materials; Humanities and Social Sciences; Kinetics; Mechanical stimuli; Microfluidic Analytical Techniques - methods; multidisciplinary; Nanoparticles; Nanoparticles - chemistry; Particle interactions; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Screening
• ISSN: 2041-1723; 2041-1723
• DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-03156-5

Particle trapping and binding in optical potential wells provide a versatile platform for various biomedical applications. However, implementation systems to study multi-particle contact interactions in an optical lattice remain rare. By configuring an optofluidic lattice, we demonstrate the precise control of particle interactions and functions such as controlling aggregation and multi-hopping. The mean residence time of a single particle is found considerably reduced from 7 s, as predicted by Kramer’s theory, to 0.6 s, owing to the mechanical interactions among aggregated particles. The optofluidic lattice also enables single-bacteria-level screening of biological binding agents such as antibodies through particle-enabled bacteria hopping. The binding efficiency of antibodies could be determined directly, selectively, quantitatively and efficiently. This work enriches the fundamental mechanisms of particle kinetics and offers new possibilities for probing and utilising unprecedented biomolecule interactions at single-bacteria level.
Optical trapping is a versatile tool for biomedical applications. Here, the authors use an optofluidic lattice to achieve controllable multi-particle hopping and demonstrate single-bacteria-level screening and measurement of binding efficiency of biological binding agents through particle-enabled bacteria hopping.