Biomolecular assays based on the aggregation of modified gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) have been developed to provide low detection limits and rapid results with a simple one-step, wash-free procedure. However, a relatively narrow dynamic range, low sensitivity, and poor precision due to time-sensitive readout limit the application of these assay platforms. In this work we synthesized asymmetrically functionalized antibody-AuNP conjugates that are rationally designed to overcome the limitations of aggregation-based immunoassays. Solid-phase synthesis was used to chemically passivate the majority of the AuNP surface and restrict antibody immobilization into a small area of the AuNP surface. These asymmetric conjugates assembled into dimers with the addition of antigen and were stable for over 24 h. In contrast, conventional antibody-AuNP conjugates which are symmetrically modified with antibody assembled into large aggregates that continuously increased in size with the addition of target antigen. These results suggest that asymmetric antibody-AuNP conjugates have the potential to significantly improve the analytical performance of aggregation-based immunoassays.
Morphological parameters of the apical surface of canary and zebra finch basilar papillae were quantitatively evaluated by scanning electron microscopy. The papillar length is -1.6 mm in both species. The zebra-finch papilla has a larger number of hair cells and is wider in the apical half of the papilla as compared to the canary. These two small songbird species have the smallest number of hair cells and the smallest papillae of the bird species investigated to date. The orientation of the hair cells is much more homogenous as compared to other species. Also, the discrepancy in the number of stereovilli of neural and abneural hair cells is much larger than in other bird species. A detailed analysis of gradients across the papilla in the canary revealed that anatomical parameters change in the neural half, whereas they remain rather constant in the abneural half of the papilla. There were, however, no obvious borders that separated distinct hair cell populations in either species. o
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