Applications of Oligopeptides and Liquid Crystals for Chemical Sensing

Abstract

Detecting small molecules and proteins is important in medical diagnosis, environmental monitoring and food safety. In Chapter 3, we developed an LC-based sensor to detect butylamine. This LC sensor doped with lauric aldehyde shows fast and distinct bright-to-dark optical response to butylamine. However, this sensor can also respond to other amines such as diisopropylamine and octylamine. To achieve better specificity, in Chapter 4 and 5, we identified oligopeptides that specifically bind to thiacloprid, imidacloprid, and glyphosate by using phage display screening, and we integrated the oligopeptides in SPR biosensors for detecting such molecules. In Chapter 6, we combined LC and oligopeptide to develop an LC sensor for detecting hCG, and in Chapter 7, we tried to amplify the LC signal by using enzymatic silver deposition. The new generation of LC-based optical sensor has potential to be developed as portable sensing devices or diagnostic kits in the future.