Pathogen-specific DNA sensing with engineered zinc finger proteins immobilized on a polymer chip

Analyst. 2018 Aug 20;143(17):4009-4016. doi: 10.1039/c8an00395e.

Abstract

A specific double-stranded DNA sensing system is of great interest for diagnostic and other biomedical applications. Zinc finger domains, which recognize double-stranded DNA, can be engineered to form custom DNA-binding proteins for the recognition of specific DNA sequences. As a proof of concept, a sequence-enabled reassembly of a TEM-1 β-lactamase system (SEER-LAC) was previously demonstrated to develop zinc finger protein (ZFP) arrays for the detection of a double-stranded bacterial DNA sequence. Here, we implemented the SEER-LAC system to demonstrate the direct detection of pathogen-specific DNA sequences present in E. coli O157:H7 on a lab-on-a-chip. ZFPs custom-designed to detect Shiga toxin in E. coli O157:H7 were immobilized on a cyclic olefin copolymer (COC) chip, which can function as a non-PCR based molecular diagnostic device. Pathogen-specific double-stranded DNA was directly detected by using engineered ZFPs immobilized on the COC chip with high specificity, providing a detection limit of 10 fmol of target DNA in a colorimetric assay. Therefore, in this study, we demonstrated the great potential of ZFP arrays on the COC chip for further development of a simple and novel lab-on-a-chip technology for the detection of pathogens.

MeSH terms

  • DNA, Bacterial / isolation & purification*
  • DNA-Binding Proteins / chemistry*
  • Escherichia coli O157 / genetics
  • Escherichia coli O157 / isolation & purification*
  • Immobilized Proteins / chemistry*
  • Lab-On-A-Chip Devices
  • Polymers
  • Protein Engineering
  • Sensitivity and Specificity
  • Zinc Fingers*

Substances

  • DNA, Bacterial
  • DNA-Binding Proteins
  • Immobilized Proteins
  • Polymers