Short peptides as biosensor transducers

Abstract

This review deals with short peptides (up to 50 amino acids) as biomimetic active recognition elements in sensing systems. Peptide-based sensors have been developed in recent years according to different strategies. Synthetic peptides have been designed on the basis of known interactions between single or a few amino acids and targets, with attention being paid to the presence of peptide motifs known to allow intermolecular self-organization of the sensing peptides over the sensor surface. Sensitive and sophisticated sensors have been obtained in this way, but the use of designed peptides is limited by severe difficulties in their in silico design. Short peptides from random phage display have been selected in a random way from large, unfocussed, and often preexisting and commercially available phage display libraries, with no design elements. Such peptides often perform better than antibodies, but they are difficult to select when the target is a small molecule because of the need to immobilize it with considerable modifications of its structure. Artificial, miniaturized receptors have been obtained from the reduction of the known sequence of a natural receptor down to a synthesizable and yet stable one. Alternatively, binding sites have been created over a designed, stable peptide scaffold. Short peptides have also been used as active elements for the detection of their own natural receptors: pathogenic bacteria have been detected with antimicrobial and cell-penetrating peptides, but key challenges such as detection of bacteria in real samples, improved sensitivity, and improved selectivity have to be faced. Peptide substrates have been conjugated to fluorescent quantum dots to obtain disposable sensors for protease activity with high sensitivity. Ferrocene-peptide conjugates have been used for electrochemical sensing of protease activity.

An Electrochemical Biosensor Based on a Myoglobin-specific Binding Peptide for Early Diagnosis of Acute Myocardial Infarction

“…[6][7][8][9][10] Driven by a clinical need for pointof-care diagnostics, next-generation biosensors with improved sensitivity and specificity have attracted increasing attention in recent years, leading to the development of peptide-based sensing approaches. 11 Peptides derived from phage display are attractive alternatives to biosensor probes. Compared to other sensing probes (e.g., antibodies), peptides can be readily synthesized and manipulated to optimize the target specificity; thus, peptides have high affinity and specificity for target analytes, even in a complex mixture and in minute amounts.…”

“…Compared to other sensing probes (e.g., antibodies), peptides can be readily synthesized and manipulated to optimize the target specificity; thus, peptides have high affinity and specificity for target analytes, even in a complex mixture and in minute amounts. [11][12][13] More recently, biosensors based on peptides obtained through phage display have been applied for the detection of cardiac troponin I. 14 In our previous work, we showed an electrochemical biosensor using a gold electrode through a self-assembled monolayer (SAM).…”

Peptide-based affinity media for solid-phase extraction of Ochratoxin A from wine samples: Effect of the solid support on binding properties

“…[2][3][4][5] Peptides binding specific targets and selected by screening of combinatorial libraries have shown great potential as antibody-mimicking affinity ligands because of their versatile chemical and physical properties in addition to well-known synthetic approaches. [6][7] In the past, our research group has developed oligopeptide sequences with binding properties towards targets as estrogens [8], mycotoxins [9,10] and recombinant proteins [11]. Their high binding capacity and selectivity were obtained through a novel evolutionary combinatorial approach, based on the selection of the best sequence extracted from a starting dipeptide library screened for the binding towards a well-defined target.…”

A review on electronic bio-sensing approaches based on non-antibody recognition elements

“…Moreover, the affinity can be further enhanced by easy modifications of the peptides. 90 Meanwhile, peptides have shown excellent intrinsic stability in harsh environments (e.g. in the presence of chemical and thermal denaturants).…”